Nowhere to Run
by Ulquiorra9000
Summary: Fleeing the Blake invasion of Solaris VII, Jeremy Stewart and other escapees join Lane Farlow and the rest of Prodigy Lance 10 to strike back against the Blakists on their staging world of Hellgar II. Rubber Match MECHWARRIOR: The Prodigy
1. Prologue: The Assassin and the Hatred

**Nowhere to Run**

**By Ulquiorra9000 and RougeBaron**

**A/N: **This story is a role-playing collaboration of Ulquiorra9000 and RougeBaron. Jeremy, Mickey, and the other Solaris Mechwarriors flee Solaris and join Prodigy Lance 10 to launch a coordinate strike against Hellgar II, a major Blake world where the local Blake forces are coming from. Meras Nimare, the current mastermind of the Clans, has other plans in store for them. Includes characters from Rubber Match and MECHWARRIOR: The Prodigy.

Also, take note that this story is presented in anime style. Flaming and/or rude comments in reviews will not benefit the readers in any way, so pleas refrain from them. Objective and open-minded feedback is best, to help both authors improve.

_BattleTech/MechWarrior and all its components are copyright of FASA, Wizkids, Activision, and Microsoft._

_MECHWARRIOR: the Prodigy and all its components are copyright of Ulquiorra9000._

_Rubber Match and all its components are copyright of RogueBaron._

_All rights reserved_

**Prologue: The Assassin and the Hatred, by Ulquiorra9000**

_Planet Peak Eighty, Clan Space (year: 3068)_

The fiery, descending sun was sinking below the horizon, its orange and red light seeming to set the entire world on fire in its presence. This was nothing more than an illusion, as the windswept wasteland of Peak Eighty was nothing but frigid mountains and valleys, a desolate ball of rock with only hardy lichens and microscopic life calling it home. Tall, jagged peaks thrust themselves high into the thin, cold air, like silent giants watching over their domain as blizzards and storms raged between their peaks, nothing moving except the fierce gales of white snow and ice.

High above, in the reddish sky, a mammoth battleship drifted along, its hard-edged and gray shape contrasting with the natural scenery below. Its engines glowed ember-red, not unlike the air it occupied, its Clan Steel Viper insignia clear on its hull. The ship's belly opened as a pair of hangar doors folded open, allowing a single one-man transport shuttle to drop out of the battleship and roar off, angling downward at the forbidding terrain.

"Lord Khan Romenicus, he is here," one of the planet's boss's men reported as soon as a radar blip appeared on his screen. He and many other uniformed men occupied a large, square room deep inside the one and only man-made structure here on Peak Eighty, a massive compound run run by one of the top Mechwarriors of the Clans, a young man feared as The Relentless.

Theodore Romenicus, despite being a boy of only seventeen years, slid his hands into his black trench coat's pockets as he approached the speaker, his dull red eyes alighting in interest. "I presume you mean Shuran, quiaff?" he asked, his voice smooth and emotionless. His hair, as white as the snow outside, fell around his ears.

"Aff, sir, it is him. Right on time. His ship sent the proper identification codes," the man reported, saluting. "He will be here in a matter of minutes."

"Good. Prepare the northeast hangar for one transport shuttle," Theodore ordered, turning away and starting toward the door. "I will personally greet him there. He is rather impatient, you see." Around Theodore were many of his workers, diligently working at various computer stations and terminals, managing his part of the Clan war effort.

There was distant affirmation, and Theodore made his way through the halls of his compound without further interruption. The massive hangar doors opened wide, allowing a blast of cold, snowy air to rush in, washing over the parked ships and past the storage crates and catwalks. Theodore stood near one end of the hangar as the expected transport ship roared into view, its engines deafening and their heat warming the place. The ship landed heavily in the middle of the hangar as the doors began to close again, and the transport's side door opened, a boarding ramp sliding out.

"Welcome... Shuran," Theodore greeted his guest, approaching the boarding ramp.

"Get the hell back in your seats. I do not need guards," the guest snarled from within the ship, and within seconds, Shuran Thomela appeared in sight and descended the ramp, tilting his head to crack his neck. Many were intimidated by the sight of the Khan of Clan Steel Viper: Shuran Thomela was just over six feet tall, with pallid skin, a mop of messy blue-black hair, hateful red eyes, and a near-constant snarl fixed on his lips. He was garbed in a heavy green trench coat not unlike Theodore's, with brown pants and shirt under that. His heavy black shoes clomped noisily on the metal floor of the hangar as he exited his transport.

"I have arrived," Shuran announced unnecessarily. "Why did you choose this goddamn cold planet to be your base, huh Theodore? I hate the cold." Shuran's bitter and excessive hate for most things in life granted him the title "The Hatred" among the Clanners.

"It's too bad that my home doesn't please you," Theodore shrugged, as the two set off side-by-side to an intelligence room. The transport ship rumbled back to life behind them, taking off into the cold outside air again. "But its remote location and obstruction-free system are ideal for me, and there are no indigenous people to get in my way. It is tough to hunt your prey when a rabble is swamping you."

"Your assassinations," Shuran muttered. He knew that Theodore was a retired assassin even at his young age, his relentless and merciless habits on the battlefield earning him the title "The Relentless." Those who were chosen as Theodore's targets would never again know peace until they were killed. "Anyway. What is the mission you called me here for?"

"ilKhan Meras Nimare has a little assignment for us to tackle. Nothing too major," Theodore explained, once the two of them were in a conference room, alone. "Do you recall that to aid our war effort, General Nimare enlisted the aid of the Word of Blake forces? Their relentless tactics impress me, and I was more than eager to accept a mission to help them out a little."

"What? Our new allies already need our help?" Shuran snorted, dropping heavily into a chair, folding his arms.

Theodore nodded, his hand running along the metal frame of a heavy pistol holstered on his right hip under his coat. "We need a preemptive strike to maintain the Word's favor. Look."

A 3-D hologram image appeared over a table, displaying several planets and fleets. "The Word of Blake successfully took the planet Solaris, to better establish a foothold in this region of the Inner Sphere. Few were able to escape, but my spies report that a lance of Mechwarriors a a few others were among those who did get away with their lives. The leader of them is little more than a Solaris jock named Jeremy Stewart, fighting for sport, but I have word that his abilities are not to be underestimated, nor those of his companions."

"And just how do you know about all this?"

"You should know that by now," Theodore responded with a tiny grin, a fleeting expression on his otherwise coldly stoic face. "I have spies all over the Inner Sphere, eyes watching everyone. Nothing happens without me knowing about it."

Shuran rolled his eyes. "Right. So what is a Solaris jock going to do? Spit on us?"

"There are more players than that," Theodore added. "Listen. Prodigy Lance 10 of the Inner Sphere is coordinating a joint effort with Jeremy and the others, to strike Hellgar II, a major Blake operations point here. If they take out that planet, the Blake forces will be crippled and open to counter-attack. This region is too important for ilKhan Nimare to allow to slip away. Both you and I are to destroy the Solaris Mechwarriors and Prodigy Lance 10. Jeremy Stewart of the Solaris crew and Lane Farlow are the priority targets. They are the leaders of their lances."

Shuran grunted as he got up, rolling his shoulders. "If it is for Meras' sake, then I will do it," he agreed, in his usual surly tone. He was a man of only 25 years, but he found it easy to intimidate many people older than him. "When do we do this? I hate waiting."

"Immediately," Theodore said simply, turning and starting to leave the room, after turning off the holo display.

"What? Right now?" Shuran repeated, starting after him. "Do you know where to go?"

"The two lances are to meet on an Inner Sphere cruiser called the _Keen Edge_," Theodore explained, making his way to a different hangar. "We have less than a full day before they depart, and my intel is thin on the Hellgar II region. We must destroy them as soon as possible, without excuse. We will relentlessly attack until they are destroyed and all dead. Only you and I are allowed to leave the area alive."

"Hmph. Sounds like a good mission to me," Shuran had to agree. "Where are you going?"

"To my ship, the _Silent Inquisitor_," Theodore said, not turning around. "I will lead the attack in it, along with a detachment of my fleet. I assume you have a detachment of your own fleet handy?"

"Aff," Shuran snapped. "I'm not sloppy, Theodore! The first chance I get, I will rip their guts out. Along with whatever other defenses they have."

"A good plan. They are massing an invasion force there, to be led by Prodigy Lance 10 and the Solaris crew," Theodore nodded. "Get ready."

"They will not survive this," Shuran growled in affirmation, before turning away and heading back to his transport. The conversation was short, but Theodore insisted on face-to-face communication, a habit learned from his assassin days of meeting clients to determine if they were legitimate. Theodore was one to examine a person and then make shadowy plans for them later, calculating who was a threat and who was not.

Two ships roared off into Peak Eighty's air now, leaving the base behind to continue its work as the two Khans departed for their mission.


	2. Chapter 1 Immortals by RougeBaron

Chapter 1: Immortals, by RougeBaron

Jumpship Socrates,

Solaris VII Orbit,

Freedom Theater, Lyran Alliance

3068

Jeremy gazed morosely at the bluish orb that was Solaris VII through the jumpship window, watching it getting smaller by each passing minute. Not even a year had passed since he came to Solaris City, the capital of the game world. The city itself was far from the glamorous image of a metropolitan that were spread throughout the Inner Sphere via HPG. It was a slum. While Solaris City had an official government, underground mafias controlled the streets. Violence broke almost every day. But for Jeremy, Solaris City was his home.

Jeremy Stewart came from New St. Andrews, a desolate periphery world off Circinus Federation. He grew up watching Solaris games, memorizing Mechwarriors' stats, and learning maneuvers of great Mechwarriors in Solaris arenas. Following the breakdown of his engagement, Jeremy went to Solaris and joined Ground Control stable, one of small stables in the rural area of Solaris City. His extensive knowledge about Solaris lives, inside and outside the arena, helped him gained attention from friends and foes alike. But Jeremy was doing fine. He thought he could finally make his dream come true.

However, the Word of Blake took control of the game world. The Word of Blake executed a two-pronged assault that systematically wiped out both official government and mafias. Solaris City melted down into total chaos the next day. Jeremy had to leave Solaris City, a decision he started to regret. To make it even harder, half of his closest friends didn't make it in time. Only Kilroy the technician, Mickey his fellow mechwarrior along with his girlfriend Hyolee, and Kilroy's assistant Mr. Roboto managed to flee off world. The rest of his friends – Jenny the mysterious girl, Amber the ex Styk paramilitia, Stan the ex Marik soldier, and Major Tom the stable master of Ground Control– were still in down there when Jeremy's dropship lifted off. There was no knowing if they were still alive.

"I know it's hard to leave," Kilroy, the stable's technician, came and stood on his sight. "I've been living there long enough to call myself a native of Solaris City. It's not the best city I've been. But it grows on you."

"I'm not worried about leaving Solaris," Jeremy cut him off. "I'm worried about Jenny, Amber, Major Tom and Stan. You've heard things about the Word of Blake, right? They cleaned up the official government and the mafia all in one night. Words on the streets stated that the Blakists massacred thousands of people. These toaster worshipers do not play fair, and I'm worried about our friends."

"Dude, there's nothing you can do," Kilroy replied, playing with his earrings. "Jenny… you know Jenny, don't you? She's the meanest chick I've ever met. She can take care of herself. Major Tom might be in trouble, but Stan wouldn't leave his side. Besides, they were Free World Leaguers before. They can talk their way out of the Blakes. And Amber… she has Mac."

"But still…" Jeremy let out a long sigh. "We shouldn't have left, man. We should've fought the Blakists."

"Jeremy," Mickey joined the conversation. "We can't fight the Word of Blake. We are 'athletes', not front-line troops. We only know how to survive in the arena. We don't know how to fight as a combat team."

At 6'2", Jeremy towered over Mickey who was only 5'6". But the 17-year-old Mickey had more knowledge about real war than him. Mickey's father was MIA at Kentares IV during Steiner-Davion clash. Jeremy commanded a battalion at New St. Andrews, but the scale of conflict was a dwarf compared to FedCom Civil War.

"So what are you guys saying?" Jeremy addressed both Kilroy and Mickey. "Do you think we just haul ass and turn our backs on our friends? That doesn't sound right to me."

"I'm not saying we should run away," Kilroy retorted. At 5'8", he was almost half a foot shorter than Jeremy, but he didn't feel intimidated by the lanky Mechwarrior. In fact, he was the oldest member of the group. "You want to fight, fine. But you can't fight now. You don't have anything that can remotely match the Word of Blake force. You have to have an army, let alone a full lance. You have to have a strategy."

As the conversation heated, two other people came and joined them. One of them was an old lady, about Kilroy's height, but double in weight. Her bicep was practically bigger than Hyolee's thigh. The other one was a young man with sharp stare and straight stance. His military background was obvious.

"I don't mean to intrude, but I heard y'all talking about fighting the Blakes," the old lady said. "I overheard the jumpship captain said that this ship was going to Hellgar II."

"What? Hellgar II? That's a major Word of Blake operation point!" Jeremy said. He turned to Kilroy, "You criticized me for rushing to fight the Blakists. Now look where this ship is going!"

"No, you don't understand," the young man tuned in. "There's already Inner Sphere operation set to strike Hellgar II. This planet is critical for Word of Blake and the Clans…"

"Whoa whoa whoa… Clans?" Jeremy, Kilroy, and Mickey blurted almost at the same time. "What do the Clans have to do with it?"

"There are rumors that certain Clans and Word of Blake are working together, an offer made by Meras Nimare himself that the Blakists accepted," the young man replied. "Why do you think the Word of Blake has so much technological advantage over IS forces? Even some of the Bloodline Eight might be involved, though it's anyone's guess as to which of them it would be."

"Who are you?" Jeremy cringed. "Where did you get this kind of information?"

"My name is Jessie, I used to work for Comstar's intelligent," the man introduced himself. "I heard a lot of crazy things from the front line. I also heard that there is a secret project called the Prodigy Project, where in order to help to counter the new Clan offensive, scientists embedded Mechwarrior skills into unborn children, forty children in total. The results were born Mechwarriors."

"It sounds like something coming out of SyFy channel," Hyolee recalled.

"As crazy as it sounds, it is true. In fact, some of them are already poised to jump to Hellgar II, consolidating forces to strike the Word of Blake. When we arrive, we can join forces. You want to fight the Word of Blake? Now is the chance."

Jeremy, Mickey, Kilroy and Hyolee looked at each other, trying to digest the new information. Suddenly they were thrown into a much deeper plot than they imagined. They had never heard about Clan – Blakist collaboration, or the Prodigy Project. Now they had to decide what to do regarding this information.

"I don't like this," Kilroy stated. "This information doesn't feel right. And we don't know the guy."

"Look, I don't know him too but if he's telling the truth, then striking Hellgar II might force the Word of Blake to withdraw from Solaris," Jeremy mused. "Here is our chance to help our friends and people at Solaris."

"You're delusional, man!" Kilroy winced. "You and what army?"

"Me, the Prodigies assuming they're real, and…" he paused and looked at Mickey. "Are you coming with me?"

Mickey stood for a minute not knowing what to do. He looked at Hyolee, who was as confused at him. When Jeremy started to show signs of losing his patience, Mickey finally answered, "I'm going where you're going."

"What if this is just Jessie's imagination?" Kilroy snapped. "What is this is a trap?"

"Trap? Come on, who wants me dead out here?" Jeremy scoffed. "I may be big in Solaris, but out here I'm nobody. I'm invisible. Nobody knows me. I'd say we give this a chance. If we're wrong, then we'll think of something else. If we're right, we can save lives."

"Alright, we're halfway there anyway," Kilroy finally caved in.

"Well, we decided that we'll give it a go," Jeremy informed Jessie and the old lady. "We'll join the Prodigies on their cruiser in orbit around a backwater world called Murlaka, and then make a joint strike at Hellgar II from there. Let's hope the Prodigy Mechwarriors are agreeable to our methods, and learn just who they are. The thing is, we're two 'mechs short of a lance. Are you Mechwarriors?"

"Rita, at your service," the old lady replied. "I've been in Solaris circuits all my life. I've been dying to see real combat. I have a Bushwacker."

"I own a Nova Cat myself," Jessie added. "I'm just at Solaris for several weeks, so I'm pretty much a novice."

"Well, I'm Jeremy, this is Mickey my fellow Mechwarrior. This is Kilroy, my technician, and Hyolee that comes with Mickey. That robot over there is Mr. Roboto, Kilroy's assistant," Jeremy introduced the team. "I ride an Apocalypse, and Mickey has a heavily customized Jenner. We can make a lance. Who's got battlefield experience beside me?"

Nobody answered.

"That means you've got to lead," Kilroy sank a gentle elbow in Jeremy's ribcage. "Hope this isn't your first time leading a team."

"No, but…" Jeremy hesitated. His last experience commanding a team was disastrous. His battalion was shredded to pieces by a smaller but more experienced company, back in New St. Andrews. "I'm not good at it. I'd rather not be lance commander…"

"I've seen you fight, Jeremy, and you're pretty good," Rita said in encouragement. "You're the only one that knows how to do it. We'll be fine."

"Well then, all right," Jeremy sighed. "We also need a name. I'm Scottish, and an old Scottish folklore told the story of a group of people from Highland that can't die unless they're beheaded. What do you say if we call ourselves… Solaris Immortals?"

"Sounds good to me," Rita said with glee. "May we fight like immortals!"

"Immortals it is!" Jessie joined in. "Live forever, Immortals!"

"All right, let's not overdo it," Kilroy spurned the instant ruckus. "Rita, Jessie, why don't you show me your 'mechs? I'd like to take a look at them."

Jeremy nodded as Kilroy and Mr. Roboto went with Rita and Jessie to the hangar. Mickey and Hyolee dismissed themselves, probably going to eat or discuss the latest development. Jeremy looked out of the window again, watching Solaris that had turned into a small ball in the vast black void. The image of carnage on the street of Solaris City came back to him, and he just hoped he could make a difference at Hellgar II.


	3. Chapter 2 About to Meet the Solaris by U

Chapter 2: About to Meet the Solaris, by Ulquiorra9000

Frigate _Keen Edge, _in orbit around Gharna Prime, Lyran Alliance space, 3068

Gharna Prime itself was a large rocky world, its sooty gray clouds smeared across its upper atmosphere and hiding half of the surface below. What little surface could be seen was ugly and patchy rock and jungle, or else sprawling cities or industrial complexes. The world was an important but shady one, often considered a haven for smugglers, pirates, outlaws, and many other dangerous types who lived there despite the legitimate business that ran the planet's economy. And the natives of Gharna Prime and its government were by nature highly suspicious and mistrustful of outsiders. It came from the constant political backstabbing, scheming, and private feuds that riddled its surface. It had become this way in recent years, becoming a backwater military world more than anything, with 'cleaner' worlds becoming preferable to it.

And yet, it was also the planet most convenient for Prodigy Lance 10 to orbit while waiting for their reinforcements. The planet, despite its dark nature, was still a Star League world, given that no one arrived there without permission or caused a ruckus.

And finally, the Lance Leader of the Prodigy strike force was fast asleep.

"I can understand taking a quick nap before the mission, but I think this has gone on long enough," Makoto Yamada rolled his eyes, tromping into Lane Farlow's private quarters, the window shutter open to reveal thousands of shining stars outside and the edge of Gharna Prime itself. A foot slamming into the edge of the bed was enough to match his point. "Get up already, Lance Leader!"

"H-hey! Easy!" Lane objected, jolting awake and trying to untangle his sleep-mussed hair while sitting upright. He stretched his muscles, his tan polo shirt crinkled. "Sorry about that, I guess I was up late last night. What's the time?"

"16:33 by standard time. Almost dinner," Makoto told him, turning away and stuffing his hands into his pockets, starting toward the door again. "But no eating just yet. They're almost here, Lance Leader. Thought you should know."

"You mean the reinforcements?" Lane asked, getting out of bed and hopping onto his feet, following his Lancemate. "The group from Solaris VII?"

"Right, I mean them," Makoto acknowledged, as the two of them made their way to the docking bay of the _Keen Edge. _"Jennifer has more of the details. You can ask her if you want."

"Got it," Lane said, then looked around. "Where's everyone else, anyway?"

"While you were asleep, Cassandra thought she'd chase after that oh-so-cute Tyak she found in the lower levels," Makoto snorted. "I swear, we can't go anywhere without those stupid things coming along too. Sirius is back on Strantor, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he's on Strantor --" Lane started, before someone else cut him off.

"I resent that, Makoto! Tyaks aren't something to be annoyed at. They're good living companions like anything else," Cassandra Goyua said, emerging from the elevator to the lower levels, her brother Kyle with her. She stepped off the elevator and saluted, along with Kyle. "And there isn't one here, but three! I counted them all at once."

"Th... _three _of them?" Makoto recoiled. "Just one was bad enough. Is she serious, Kyle?"

"Well, I was mostly down there fine-tuning all our 'mechs before the mission got underway," Kyle explained, holding up his slightly oily and worn fingers and hands, a dirty rag half-stuffed into his pants pocket. "You know..."

"That's gross, Kyle. Wash your hands!" Cassandra objected, seeing Kyle's dirty hands. "Don't touch anything until then."

Kyle shrugged. "But I wanted out machines in top shape before the newcomers saw them. They're Battlemech jockeys by what I've heard, and I wanted to impress them when they arrive."

"Then you finished just in time," the fifth member of the crew, and the fourth member of Lane's Lance, said as she arrived on the scene from the bridge. Jennifer had her hair in its usual thin ponytail over her back, her soft amber eyes on Lane. "The crew has identified a jumpship designated _Socrates, _inbound and due to dock in one minute. It's the Solaris crew, and according to the file, they fled Solaris VII as soon as the Word of Blake and Clan invasion was launched there. The leader of this group, Lane, is named Jeremy Stewart, so you may address him properly when we meet. As soon as the Solaris crew has docked and we have greeted them, we will all report to the briefing room for our mission outline."

"Understood," Lane acknowledged. "So they're fugitives from Solaris... hey, that must be them!"

There was a chime in the intercom system, reporting that the jumpship _Socrates _had landed in the docking bay. Wasting no more time, the Lance of four, plus Cassandra, reached the docks and stood before the landed jumpship, awaiting their new Solaris friends.


	4. Chapter 3 New Allies by RougeBaron

Chapter 3: New Allies, by RougeBaron

Frigate Keen Edge, Orbit of Gharna Prime,

Lyran Alliance,

3068

The rusty old jumpship Socrates screeched and groaned as it bumped its way into Keen Edge's docking pylons. Tremors surged through the ship's living quarters, and warning signs flashed intermittently, but the alarm horns shied away from accompanying the blitzing lights. Whether they malfunctioned or the twisting and bumping was not critical, nobody could tell.

The jumpship finally stopped moving, and Jeremy pondered his new adventure. When he left home for Solaris VII he never thought he would end up at Gharna Prime, a backwater planet with malicious inhabitants. He heard stories about this planet when he used to hang out at Brit's Diner. Solaris City, with all its mafia underlings, was pale compared to Gharna Prime in terms of violence.

"Nice, isn't it?" Kilroy stated as he joined Jeremy looking at the grayish planet through the window. "Who would've thought that this serenity could eat you alive?"

"Much like Pandora," Jeremy replied unenthusiastically. "A true savage beauty."

"Have you been to Pandora?" Rita added. "I would love to go there someday. I heard we could get 1.8 billion c-bills in just 43 days. I won't have to work as a mech jock anymore."

Jeremy just smiled. Brit's Diner, Hangar66, and especially Thor's Shieldhall were the mecca for rumors and folklore around the Inner Sphere. It was almost impossible to single out the truth from people's imagination. He missed the camaraderie of those places. He longed to go back, once his mission here was completed.

"Hey, the door's open," Mickey shouted from across the room. "Come on, we'll meet the Prodigies!"

As he walked through the corridor joining Socrates and Keen Edge, Jeremy tried to imagine what a Prodigy would look like. Clanfolk had been regarded as the best Mechwarriors to date, but their skill was the result of genetic enhancements, years of training and electronic implants. Again, this might just be a Solaris City rumor, and the thought started making him nervous.

Entering the frigate Keen Edge, Jeremy's party was greeted by a number of people. Jeremy saw hints of military background in their posture and body language. What he couldn't understand was the fact that these welcoming parties were merely teenagers. Jeremy understood that some Mechwarriors started very young, but none had been given a big responsibility until they were older. Not even Clanners went to the field when they were teenagers. Did people start sending teens to war? Jeremy didn't know the answer. So much had changed.

"Welcome to the Keen Edge," one of them spoke. "My name is Lane Farlow, I am the lance commander of Prodigy Lance 10. This is Jennifer Lorin, my second in command. The other lance members are Kyle Goyua and Makoto Yamada. Finally, this is my technician, Cassandra Goyua, Kyle's younger sister. We're glad to meet you."

"Same here," Jeremy replied awkwardly. "I'm Jeremy Stewart, I am the lead of Solaris Immortals. This is Mickey; we came from the same stable back in Solaris. We met Rita and Jessie on the ship when we escaped Solaris City, and we decided to join force and made a lance. Actually we learned about you from Jessie. He used to be an intel agent for ComStar. This is my technician, Kilroy, also from the same stable with me. He has an assistant that stays on the Socrates to take care of our Battlemechs. The last one is Hyolee. She is Mickey's girlfriend and is a non combatant."

"Hello," Hyolee said with a giddy smile. "Nice to meet you all."

"Solaris arena Mechwarriors!" Cassandra said jovially. "What kind of Battlemechs are you guys bringing?"

"Jeremy has an Apocalypse," Mickey explained. "It's a Solaris-custom mech. Before we left, we were testing its capability in the arena. I have a Jenner, Rita has a Bushwacker, and Jessie has a Nova Cat. The Nova Cat is kinda cool because it's a Clan Omnimech. What do you guys have?"

"I drive a Madcat," Lane stated. "Jennifer has an Uziel, Makoto has a Cougar, and Kyle has a Shadow Cat that he built himself, with Cassandra's help."

"What?" Kilroy's eyes widened with disbelief. "You built a Shadow Cat? How old are you?"

"I'm 15, and my sister's 12," Kyle responded.

"Hey, I want to see your 'mechs!" Cassandra chimed. "May I go see them? I bet they're awesome! Probably better than Makoto's crummy Cougar."

"Is there a reason you keep picking on me?" Makoto muttered.

"Act professional, everyone," Jennifer reminded them. "This isn't a game."

"Why don't you just kill me?" Kilroy muttered in shock and spite. He froze in his place, shifting his look from Kyle and Cassandra, then shot a bitter stare at Jeremy. Before he made any further inappropriate comments, Jeremy tapped his shoulder rather harshly, then pointed to Socrates, "Go with her. See what she's capable of."

Kilroy dragged his feet and followed Cassandra ,who had pranced toward the corridor. Jeremy felt obligated to explain the situation to the Prodigies before they mistakenly took Kilroy's attitude. "I apologize for Kilroy's comment. He's outspoken, but he's still a good guy. He's just surprised to see teens like you are so advanced in Battlemechs technology. In fact, I wasn't expecting to see people your age."

"That is understandable," Jennifer replied. "Not a lot of people know about the Prodigy program. It started in 3052 as a preemptive measure, in case the Clans start their bidding toward Terra again. Lane, Makoto and myself were among 40 children who were embedded with Battlemech piloting skills. Kyle was not the original 40, but he was inducted into the program to replace a dropout…"

Jennifer continued to explain the Prodigy program, but Jeremy lost interest when his mind drifted to other matters. The teenaged girl spoke with a fine Welsh accent and the grace that brought Jeremy's mind back to New St. Andrews, when he first met a girl from a rival family. Pieces of memory of his ex fiancée flashed in kaleidoscopic color, and the longer Jennifer talked, the more vividly he saw Evee in her.

The sudden recollection punched a sharp barb into Jeremy's mind. Their physique was completely different: Jennifer was slim, Evee was curvy, Jennifer's light purple hair was straight in a thin ponytail, Evee's was wavy blonde that she never wore in a ponytail, Jennifer's eyes were amber in color, Evee's were marine blue. But their body language was dead on, and the lack of physical similarity forced Jeremy to remember Evee's worst conduct: her betrayal of his unconditional love.

"Is something wrong?" Lane asked. "You look… unwell."

"No, nothing," Jeremy cringed, quickly hiding his feelings. He hoped that nobody noticed a change in his expression. "It's just… Long journey from Solaris."

"We have refreshments on board if you wish," Jennifer offered.

"No, I'm fine," Jeremy shook his head, averting his eyes from Jennifer's. "Guys, how about you?"

"I think I will go with the food," Rita grinned from ear to ear. "Never pass a good offer."

"I'll go with you," Jessie added. "Maybe I'll take a look around of your ship too."

"I'm kinda hungry myself," Hyolee tuned in. "Aren't you, Mick?"

"A little," Mickey reluctantly responded. "I guess we can eat before we start planning our move."

"Let me take you there," Makoto offered. "Are you sure you don't want something, Jeremy?"

"I'm okay," Jeremy regained his composure. He turned to Lane. "I'm ready to get up to speed."

"All right," Lane nodded, and motioned Jennifer to tag along with him. "Let's go to the ready room."

Lane led the way, followed by Jennifer. Jeremy stole a stare at the teenage girl and wondered how he should behave around her. He didn't want to jeopardize his mission by creating a drama between Jennifer and himself, but the painful memory of his ill-fated engagement seemed to incapacitate him. He started to think that joining forces with the Prodigy was a bad idea.

"You should've seen her," suddenly Kilroy appeared out of nowhere, clenching his fist on Jeremy's arm. "That kid is no joke. She is not even a teenager yet, but she knows everything about Battlemech engineering. She knows things that I've never learned from VEST, ferchrissake! Look at me, Jeremy! I'm 28 and I'm nowhere near this kid's skill!"

"What is wrong with you?" Jeremy yanked his arm free. "These kids are specially bred. They had their skill planted in their brains before they were born. They knew things about Battlemechs before they were even potty-trained. You are not one of them, Kilroy. You are not a product of some sick experiment to fight the Clan invasion. You are a goddamn human being, so act like one!"

"Hey, hey, easy!" Kilroy was taken aback by Jeremy's sudden outburst. "What now? Their skills make you jealous, too? Besides, the Goyuas aren't actual Prodigies! They just joined the actual Prodigies and learned their skill some way else, maybe natural talent. So you can be jealous but I can't?"

"I'm not jealous, dammit!" Jeremy let out a harsh puff. He massaged his temple, wondering if he could keep himself together. "I'm sorry. It's just… You know what, never mind me. Just go eat with others. I have a meeting with the Prodigy leader to plan our attack."

"At last, there's something interesting in this place," Kilroy sighed, a bit relieved. "Let's see if these kids have better taste than Socrates' cook."

Jeremy and Kilroy walked around until they found the mess hall. The smell of food seeped into the corridor, and Kilroy quickly trailed the smell until he found the source. Jeremy didn't feel like eating. He just observed from outside the room. Mickey and Hyolee had already become engrossed in a conversation with Cassandra. In another part of the room, Makoto was talking intensely to Rita and Jessie about the frigate. Both parties seemed to get along well. It seemed that Jeremy was the only one that couldn't enjoy this new alliance.

Jeremy took a step back and started walking slowly toward the ready room. Perhaps he didn't have to enjoy everything. If he could finish this campaign quickly, maybe he could go back to Solaris. To him, it was the only excitement he could feel.


	5. Chapter4 All or Nothing by Ulquiorra9000

Chapter 4: All or Nothing, by Ulquiorra9000

Frigate Keen Edge, Orbit of Gharna Prime,

Lyran Alliance, 3068

"As far as I have been told and as far as I can tell for myself, the Word of Blake and Clans mean business," Lane told Jeremy in the briefing room near the bow of the Keen Edge, pacing back and forth in front of the holo-display table. "To be more specific, Clan Wolf is the main Clan supporting the Blake forces on Solaris VII, and word has it that Meras Nimare himself of the Wolves is on Solaris. Clan Ghost Bear is lending a hand, too, and its Khan Corvus Klein is acting as Meras' support. Finally, Corvus' sisters Vela and Cassiopeia Klein are there too, with detachments of their own forces. The good thing is, this is ultimately a Blake operation, and we know where and how to stop it."

Tactical displays of Solaris VII, Gharna Prime, Hellgar II, and ship and transport movement were all plotted and labeled on the floating display of the table, information that had been sent to the Prodigy Lance Leader before the Keen Edge had departed from Strantor to reach Gharna Prime, the meeting place. Hellgar II came into focus, highlighted in red. Lane pointed at it.

"This is Hellgar II, a major garrison planet for the Word of Blake," Lane explained. "Almost all of their forces are coming from here, and this planet provides a jump point for the Clan forces to arrive at before reaching Solaris; the Clanners can't get any forces to Solaris without arriving at Hellgar II's spaceports first. A large-scale counter-attack there would only escalate this conflict out of hand, but a discreet strike team can cripple their offensive quietly and efficiently. That team... would happen to be ours. There's a small opening, a blind spot, in their fleet movements and a well-coordinated jump can get us in their space and land on the surface without anyone knowing. From there, we march to Strahaven, the capital. We're due to get more specific orders once we're there."

Jeremy stood before the information table, a loose fist held up to his mouth in concentration as his eyes fixed on the display, his brow furrowed in further concentration. "So... we're a small, undercover strike force going right to the heart of the enemy," Jeremy murmured. He lowered his arm, his back-mounted katana clacking in its sheath from the movement. "And we were hand-picked for this?"

Lane nodded. "Yup, we were. All of us have experience that'll be essential for the mission. Cassandra, Kyle, and Kilroy's mechanical expertise could be useful too. We'll get it done, no worry. This ship, our 'mechs, and everyone here is more than capable. With any luck, the Blakists and Clanners will be backing off within days, and we'll all be done with this. I... I don't like it either, how the Clanners and Blakists just attack Solaris like that, but the Clans are getting desperate, and their collaboration with the Word is their move to gain the upper hand. Our mission is to make sure that we deny them that upper hand, at least in this corner of the galaxy. Well, that's it. Do you have any questions to ask?"

Jeremy seemed to hesitate. "No, I'm good. The sooner this operation gets underway, the better off we'll be."

"Yeah, I can agree with that," Lane said lightly, turning off the holo-table as the two of them started to exit the room. "A lot of people are counting on us."

"They're counting on us. They put their trust in us..." Jeremy said quietly, apparently thinking things to himself that Lane wasn't aware of. In Jeremy's mind, he could recall Amber and Jenny and Stan and the others he had been forced to leave behind on the burning and war-torn Solaris, their fates unknown. It was up to him and these others to complete their mission so everyone could get out of this alive. And then there was Evee, and the mutual trust they had had before she let him for another.

"H... hey, Lane," Jeremy asked.

"Uh-huh?" the Prodigy Lance Leader prompted, hands pockets and turned his head to look at the Solaris arena fighter.

"Your Lancemate, Jennifer. Do you get along with her pretty well?"

Lane recoiled in good nature, trying not to go red. "H-huh?!" he said, then calmed himself down. "Ha ha, sorry, I get jumpy when it comes to that. Keep it a secret, but... yeah, I get along with her pretty well. She's my most trusted Lancemate, in fact. She never lets me down, and it's not just because she's a Lorin." Lane was referring to the Lorins, Jennifer's family who prided themselves in being self-made, first-rate Mechwarriors.

"Oh. That's good," Jeremy nodded, though he still looked a little bothered by something. "I was just asking..."

"No big deal. I've learned to be more honest not just to myself, but to others, too," Lane assured him. "Really, I used to say all kinds of nonsense to brush others off and try to shut out what I knew was true within myself. I've learned to accept the truth and live with it, to have inner harmony. Or something."

Lane could tell that his words must have meant more to Jeremy than he had intended them to, because the other suddenly looked thoughtful and then dismissed that expression. "Yeah, that sounds like a good mentality to have," Jeremy concluded.

"So. Do you have a few minutes to spare?" Lane asked.

"For what?" Jeremy responded.

"You fought in Solaris arenas with an Apocalypse Battlemech," Lane said, sounding eager, his expression matching. "You're experienced with battle, I know that. I am too. What better way is there to prove our skill, though, than a quick sparring match in the practice room at the stern? My Madcat is all set."

Now Jeremy looked a little more enthusiastic. "Sounds like a plan," he said. "I might need to blow off some steam. Could do me some good."

"What weapons do you use?" the Prodigy Lance Leader asked. "People customize their 'mech's weapons all the time, me included. Makoto's Cougar has a weapons configuration much different than the standard one, too..."

"Now, I can't tell you that," Jeremy grinned. "What better way to find out than go up against me? I know the basic layout of this class of ship. I'll be at the practice room in just a minute. Don't let me down, okay?"

"I was just going to say that," Lane grinned.

***

"So... I hear that you and Hyolee are close," Cassandra said slyly, slinking past Makoto and slipping into a seat next to Mickey, who was digging in to the excellent pasta salad the ship had to offer. "Am I wrong?"

Mickey almost jumped out of his seat, clutching his heart. "Hey! Where did you come from?" he gasped. "Jeez!"

"I know what you mean," Makoto rolled his eyes, trying to nudge Cassandra over to some breathing room. "She's like a poltergeist sometimes, popping out of nowhere and clanging her computer parts around talking about these crazy new components she's making..."

"Energetic kid, isn't she?" Rita commented to Jessie across the table, and the other nodded.

Cassandra's ears perked. "Nuh-uh, that is not true!" she announced, pointing at Rita in declaration. "I'll have you know, I am Cassandra Goyua, Senior Technician, and a war hero!"

"Now that's not true," Kyle had to object.

"Yes, it is," his sister countered. "Back on Meadow when the Jade Falcons invaded, I helped Lane get the road barrier down so half the city wasn't doomed to their deaths any more! I helped save thousands of lives and affected the course of that whole battle."

"Oh yeah, you were in town the day they attacked," Kyle remembered. "Mom and I were worried sick..."

"You were worried? Now that's just too precious..." Cassandra glowed, embracing Kyle in a tight family hug. "Thank you, brother!"

"Is she always like this?" Jessie asked disbelievingly, watching.

"Unfortunately, yes," Jennifer said somberly as she passed by, carrying a case of equipment. "Quite a bother."

"Hey Jennifer, remember that time Lane hugged you after a mission and reminded you that he loves you?" Cassandra called back. There was a loud clang as Jennifer dropped her item, instantly blushing and losing her strict demeanor.

"Don't make up lies about me!" she snapped back. "Was that retaliation for my comment?"

"Maybe..." Cassandra said slyly, turning away. Jennifer sighed and moved on, and then Hyolee told Mickey, "I think I like this one."

"Bunch of kids, all right," Jessie muttered to Rita behind his hand, and the older woman grinned knowingly.

"So, did you and your sister really build that Shadowcat all by yourself? Using scrap parts?" Mickey asked Kyle, sounding excited.

Kyle opened his mouth slightly, then averted his gaze, looking down. "I-I, um... that is to say..."

"What's the matter?" Hyolee asked, leaning past Mickey to see the shy farm boy. "Are you okay?"

"My brother is just shy, that's all," Cassandra explained. "It's something he has to work at. He'll be single forever if this keeps up. He has to put himself out there and demonstrate confidence to gain the trust and respect of others."

"Hey, I do okay on the battlefield, don't I?" Kyle defended himself.

"True, but..."

"Anyway! I indeed built that Shadowcat with Cassandra's help, using nothing but scrap parts and online guides," Kyle said proudly to Mickey. "Took us over five months, but the end result was worth it. She and I built all kinds of stuff in our farm's barn from that scrap pile, from foam-dart shooting automated turrets to fold-down robots to engines... but that Shadowcat was our pride and joy. I entrust my life to that machine."

"Amazing..." Hyolee breathed. "You passed the time doing that? Did you bring any of your other inventions with you?"

"Well, no," Kyle shook his head. "Half of it was junk that hardly worked anyway. I handle most of the hardware like chassis and engines, and Cassandra's better at the software and computer aspect of our work. She can combine a computer to a toaster and make the end result practically send e-mail toast!"

"Now that's just weird," Makoto muttered.

"Man, who knew people like this existed?" Kilroy commented. "I have Mr. Roboto with me and we can get the job done, but still..."

"Oh, don't be like that, Mr. Kilroy. You're pretty good, too," Cassandra complimented. "Really, I have an eye for how things go together, and you and this robot make a good team. I'd trust a Battlemech to you."

"Well, thanks," Kilroy said, looking happier; he had previously looked a little sour upon meeting kids half his age who had skills that surpassed his own. "Mr. Roboto and I are indeed a team."

"And with a microprocessor like this, he'll be useful for years to come," Cassandra added, inspecting a computer piece in her hand with an eyepiece. "Interesting..."

"Where did that come from?" Kilroy asked, looking at it.

"This is Mr. Roboto's," the younger tech explained simply.

"It... h-hey! You can't just take that without asking!" Kilroy yelped. "You took out his brain? No wonder he wasn't moving when we left the hangar..."

"I might upgrade this thing a little before sticking it back into his head," Cassandra decided, slipping the microprocessor back into her pocket and removing her eyepiece. "Want to help, Kyle?"

"You're better at the computer stuff than me," Kyle said. "I'd rather tinker with the 'mechs themselves. It would be to our advantage to know how our new allies' machines work before we get into the action."

"Makes sense," Makoto nodded.

"And I'm the one who got them in shape to bring in the first place," Kilroy added, pointing at himself. "Those machines are well under my and Mr. Roboto's care."

"Mmmmmmm, nope. Now... they'll be under all our care!" Cassandra announced.

"Huh?" Kyle asked.

"We're all techies, brother. Why not pool our efforts into a team of four? Mr. Roboto, Kilroy, and you and me. We'll be in the engineer bay all day working on stuff..."

"That actually sounds like a good idea," Kyle had to say. "What about you, Kilroy?" The older technician nodded.

"Not even a minute after arguing, they get along so well now," Jessie commented to Rita, and the other nodded.

Unknown to any of them, two Clan fleet detachments were drawing nearer, their Khans determined to see the newly found alliance destroyed.


	6. Chapter 5 Battle Stations by RougeBaron

Chapter 5: Battle Stations, by RougeBaron

Frigate Keen Edge, Orbit of Gharna Prime,

Lyran Alliance,

3068

As time went, the mess hall had become alive with conversation. The Solaris team greatly appreciated the refreshment and acquaintance of the Prodigy lance. Kilroy, who was miserable not half an hour ago, managed to beam once in a while, although he still scowled at Kyle and Cassandra if nobody noticed. Rita devoured everything within her reach, while Mickey and Hyolee started getting interrogated by Cassandra about their relationship.

"So…you've heard a lot about us," she prodded. "Now it's your turn. Tell us about yourself."

"Oh, well, I was born at Solaris VII," Hyolee responded. "My family owned a culinary business, but they were killed during a riot between Lyran and FedSun supporters. I was adopted by Stan, one of the founding fathers of Ground Control stable. I worked at the stable for a while, but I know nothing about Mechwarrior business. So Stan found me a job at a restaurant."

"I was born on Charra III," Mickey added. "My father was a Lyran mechwarrior. He was MIA at Kentares IV during FedCom Civil War. I never liked my step mother, so I escaped to Solaris. Stan found me, adopted me, and trained me to be an arena mechwarrior. He was as good as my father. Too bad he didn't make it to the dropship. I hope nothing bad happened to him."

"So you guys met at the stable," Cassandra chimed. "How did it go so far? Have you had any problem with your relationship? I may be able to help."

"Cassandra, some people find this kind of question intrusive," Kyle tried to rein in her sister.

"Oh, that's okay," Hyolee giggled, hooking her right arm on Mickey's waist. "Since Stan adopted us, we got to spend a lot of time together. Mickey is a very nice guy. Solaris Mechwarriors are mostly arrogant jerks who look down on ordinary people like me. Mickey is different; he is kind and gentle to me. I love him so much."

"Err, I guess that's because I lived on the streets before Stan found me," Mickey replied, blushing. "I can't forget where I came from. I am not a good mechwarrior. I cost the stable more money than I can bring in. But Hyolee is very supportive and understanding. She is always there when I fight. I can't find a better supporter than her." He squeezed her shoulder. "I love her too, and we've been together for more than a year now."

"See?" Cassandra turned to her brother. "If you're not shy, you can find somebody who's supportive."

"I know some nice customers who are cute and single," Hyolee stated. "If you come to Solaris City, I can hook you up with them."

"Hey, I can take care of myself," Kyle replied quickly, then called out Rita to divert people's attention. "What about you, Miss Rita? Are you an arena Mechwarrior too?"

"All my life," Rita said while munching. "My father was a mechwarrior, just like his father. I married a mechwarrior when I was 19, but he was killed in the arena two years later. I've been fighting for various stables, from big names like the Overlord to some unheard ones. I tried other lifestyles like arm dealing with my second husband, but the Yakuza came and killed him. I guess being an arena mechwarrior is the way to go for me."

"Wow," Hyolee cringed. "Sorry to hear that."

"Well, that's life, kid," Rita replied while stuffing a cake into her mouth. "So what's your story, young man?" she turned and slapped Jessie gently on his arm. "Anything interesting?"

"I worked for Comstar intelligence," Jessie stated. "I have heard about the Prodigy Program before I came to Solaris VII. In fact, I introduced the Prodigies to Jeremy, Mickey, Hyolee, and Kilroy. These guys haven't heard anything about the Prodigy Program before. I'm glad they are willing to work together with you. This Word of Blake and Clan alliance must be stopped, and I think working together helps."

"Agreed!" Cassandra tuned in enthusiastically. "What about your lance commander? He's an arena Mechwarrior too, isn't he? Is he arrogant like Hyolee said?"

"Jeremy? No, he's not arrogant," Mickey quickly answered. "He is very nice, too. He came from a faraway planet, and he's really good at 'mech combat. But Stan didn't really like him. He said Jeremy was …hiding something. Sometimes I saw him sitting alone, daydreaming. Even so, the rest of the stable members liked him except for Mac, the arrogant mechwarrior Jeremy replaced."

"He looks like a cool guy," Cassandra mused. "Does he have a girlfriend?"

"Not that we know of," Hyolee shook her head. "He was close to a couple girls on the stable, but nothing happened so far. But there is a rumor around the stable that Jeremy had a girlfriend somewhere…"

"Do not talk about Jeremy that way," suddenly Kilroy interrupted. "He'd kill you."

"What? Why?" Cassandra, Kyle, Rita and Jessie said almost at the same time, alarmed by the suggested threat. "Come on, won't you tell us?"

"Look, as a friend, I respect Jeremy's private life," Kilroy hissed, as if he was afraid Jeremy would hear him. "This is a very sensitive matter to him. I request that you leave him out of your romantic conversation."

"But we just want to know each other better," Cassandra pressed her curiosity. "Come on, Mr. Kilroy. Tell us what happened! Maybe some of us can help."

"He doesn't need help," Kilroy replied brusquely. "He needs privacy."

"I promise I'll reprogram Mr. Roboto's processor to give it more capability," Cassandra pleaded. "Come on, we won't tell him. What is going on with Jeremy?"

Under normal circumstances, Kilroy would just leave the room. But Cassandra's offer was too good to pass. He always had a feeling that Mr. Roboto was more than just a mechanical assistant, and he was curious how good the 12-year-old girl was. Presently, he motioned for everybody to gather closer to him, and he made sure that nobody was in the hallway.

"Every time Jeremy went to battle, he stuck this picture on his HUD," Kilroy said as he drew a crumpled, half-burnt photo from his pocket. "The last time he was in the arena, his cockpit was trampled and he had to eject. He must've thought he lost this photo, but I rebuilt the cockpit and I was able to save it."

Kilroy handed the photo to Mickey, who passed it to Hyolee, who in turned gave it to Cassandra. As Cassandra held it, Rita and Jessie leaned sideways to take a peek. The photo was a picture of Jeremy – with short hair and no goatee – with a blonde woman holding his hand. The photo was in poor condition, but it was not hard to see a gorgeous diamond ring on the woman's left hand.

"Oh my gawd!" Hyolee exclaimed excitedly. "Oh my gawd! He was married!"

"I don't see a wedding band, honey," Rita commented. "But he was engaged, that's for sure."

"My my, she is beautiful," Jessie added. "Jeremy's one lucky bastard."

"What's her name?" Cassandra queried, questions flying every which way. "Where is she now? Why isn't she with Jeremy? Did they break up? She didn't die, did she?"

"How on earth should I know?" Kilroy grumbled. "He never shares it with me. I know he is deeply troubled when he looks at the photo, however. That's why I haven't given it back to him because I don't want to see him miserable. Whatever happened to them, I think it's time for Jeremy to move on. Now give it back to me!"

"As his friends, we have to help him," Cassandra announced as she quickly passed the photo to Kyle. "It's obvious that Jeremy loves this woman. We have to hook him up with her again, so he can be happy like Mickey and Hyolee."

"What if she's dead?" Kilroy countered, started to lose his patience. "Listen to me: There's nothing we can do!"

"Who's dead?" Jeremy asked as he suddenly came to the mess hall. "Who are you talking about?"

Kilroy quickly snapped the photo from Kyle's hand and put it back into his pocket. "Err… nobody. We're just… uhm, you know, looking into the future. Nothing to worry about."

"Okay, then," Jeremy stared into Kilroy's eyes suspiciously, but he decided to trust his mechanic for the time being. "I need the Apocalypse. Lane Farlow and I will have a sparring session."

"Here?" Kilroy cocked his eyebrow. "On this frigate?"

"We have a Battlemech practice room," Cassandra said. "That means we have to prepare Lane's 'mech, too. Come on, Kyle! This is going to be good!"

Cassandra bolted out of the room, followed by Kyle. Kilroy approached Jeremy, followed by the rest of the team. "Are you serious about this?" Kilroy blurted. "We just know these guys very much. We don't know their fighting style. You could be killed."

"We're on the same side," Jeremy replied cautiously. "If I have to trust the Prodigies, I have to know their capability. Sparring will help me know them better. Besides, Lane Farlow looks like a respectable guy."

"Very well, if that's what you want," Kilroy muttered, then slipped past Jeremy toward the joining corridor. "Just be careful out there."

* * * * *

The training room reminded Jeremy of some Solaris arenas: enclosed field with artificial light and thick wall fortification. It was not as big as Solaris arenas, but it was also less crowded. Jeremy guessed this room was specially designed for gunnery practice. There were a lot of room to maneuver, but not much for a full run.

As he brought his Apocalypse into the room, a Mad Cat came in from the other entrance. Jeremy knew well about the machine. It was possibly the most well-balanced Battlemech ever created. One could argue that it was not as well-armored as some bulky Inner Sphere mechs, and its XL engine were more prone to critical damage than IS counterpart. But why should anybody worry about getting hit? The Mad Cat had range, speed, agility, and firepower in its arsenal.

Luckily, Lane's Mad Cat was leaning toward ranged fighting. Its double PPCs and LRMs would be hard to control in a close-quarter combat. Jeremy's mech, on the other hand, was designed to fight in an enclosure. The UAC10, twin SRM4, and double medium lasers was a nasty short-range combination. If Jeremy played it right, this could be a one-sided battle.

But Jeremy didn't want to assume anything. Mac's Black Knight sported long-range weapons, but he beat the Apocalypse at short range. It was a valuable lesson he learned the hard way. So Jeremy would assume the worst. Anybody with a Mad Cat was a dangerous foe.

"All right, Jeremy, Lane," Jennifer's fine Welsh accent took over Kilroy's. "This is a live-fire exercise. Defend yourselves at all time but do not overdo it. We don't want to hurt our comrades. Sparring commences in five... four... three..."

Jeremy mustered all energy to focus on the big mech in front of him, rubbing his thumb on the alpha-strike button, but a last-minute second thought switched his finger to regular trigger. His last fight with Mac reminded him not to abuse his advantage. He linked his SRMs and medium lasers together. Adrenaline rushed through his body as Jennifer's countdown reached zero.

"Go!" Jennifer's voice boomed on the comlink, and Jeremy mashed his trigger. His canopy was covered with white smoke as missiles raced from the tubes. At the same time his radar screamed proximity alert, and Lane's missiles peppered his left torso. Shards of armor busted into the air as explosions ripped them off the 'mech. Jeremy gritted his teeth, withstanding the onslaught. Instinctively, Jeremy turned his 'mech to the right, protecting his most valuable weapon. The impact sent Apocalypse swaying left and right, fighting to stand tall in its two feet, while LRMs slammed into every part of its body, trying to do otherwise.

Jeremy pushed his throttle to get a break, but a blue surge of energy flashed in front of his eyes. A split second later his Apocalypse jerked behind, and he almost slammed his head on his console. Half of his gauges went static, and his armor tracker on the left torso glowed in orange. It was almost like a déjà vu of Mac's PPC; maybe two of them. He couldn't tell amidst blaring sound.

Churned to a point of throwing up, Jeremy twisted left and fired his UAC10. He watched in glee as the sub-munitions shredded the Mad Cat's center armor. The Clan war machine careened, staggering hard to keep standing. Jeremy steadied his 'mech, put the Mad Cat on his crosshair, and let his twin SRM4 launchers belch their deadly payload once again. Six missiles erupted on the lower torso of the Mad Cat, ripping off more armor as it swayed like a drunkard.

However, his upper hand was short-lived. The second wave of LRMs from the Mad Cat soared, and Jeremy manipulated his joystick in evasive maneuver but there was just not enough room. No fewer than 30 missiles landed on its center torso, gouging a deep crater on his left torso. Tongues of fire billowed out from the missile rack. The cockpit groaned in a sickening twisted metal.

Jeremy had been careful not to hit the alpha strike, but the sense of urgency had clouded his judgment. He brought his 'mech back online and fired all weapons, and his lasers melted away the remaining armor of the Mad Cat's center torso. The Clan 'mech staggered, trying to compensate the loss of mass. Jeremy's missiles landed on the weakened armor, and the impact sent the Mad Cat stepping back. Then, his autocannon shells strafed the Mad Cat's left torso, keeping the heavy mech off balance.

But the alpha strike came with a great price. Heat spiked up uncontrollably, and suddenly breathing became a struggle. Jeremy dumped a third of his coolant, forcing the heat tracker to drop several notches, but it didn't help much. His Apocalypse became a sluggish hulk, and the Mad Cat quickly adjusted its crosshair. Jeremy knew he didn't have a chance against the Mad Cat's twin PPCs, so he braced for impact.

Strangely, the big punch never arrived. Instead of PPC, the Mad Cat punished him with machine guns on the torso and medium lasers from the arm gun's lower barrels, most the firepower being absorbed by the Apocalypse's moderately-unscratched right armor. Most likely Lane Farlow had a heat problem too, although Jeremy didn't see dumped coolant. But he didn't want to hang around to find out. He pushed his throttle to maximum, getting his mech out of the way.

That little break gave Jeremy a chance to assess the situation. The Apocalypse had lost 50-percent of its armor, mostly on the left torso, and one third of the coolant. Lane Farlow was an exceptional shooter, and he knew how to concentrate fire on Jeremy's weakest part. He didn't have difficulty fighting at close range with PPC and LRMs. On the other hand, Jeremy lost only 50 percent of armor. If he fought like the last time he fought Mac, he would've been beaten, or maybe killed.

As waste heat dissipated, Jeremy started shooting again, punching pockmarks in the Mad Cat's armor with his medium lasers and his seething red large laser. He kept moving in circle, throwing off the Mad Cat's aim. When it started to keep up with him, Jeremy hit his autocannon again. The Mad Cat jarred heavily as the autocannon shell slammed into its right torso, threatening to breach its right. The Mad Cat fired its missiles, but without a hard lock, the missiles flew harmlessly over Jeremy's head, detonating against the far wall. The missiles created a cloud of smoke but did little else.

"Take this, Farlow!" Jeremy hissed while lining up his UAC10 at the Mad Cat's torso. He ignored the Mad Cat's lasers that took away the last remaining armor on his left torso. Grinning, he let the barrels roll, and the autocannon shells shredded the right arm, almost breaching the PPC. Sparks blasted from the Mad Cat's right arm.

The fight was far from over, however. The Mad Cat twisted and fired its left PPC. Jeremy wasn't quick enough and took a direct hit. Tongues of flame spilled out from the torso as the Apocalypse staggered backward, spitting a geyser of metal shards from its chest. Damage report screamed, and his gyro indicator flashed in red, telling him that he needed a radical maneuver to win the match.

As a matter of fact, Jeremy didn't think this match was his to win. His gyro was hit, meaning his 'mech lost its support system that enabled it to stand and move. The fact that the Apocalypse was still standing was due to its massive legs and low center torso, which put the center of gravity close to the ground. Even so, it was a sitting duck. He could press his luck and fired his final alpha strike, but it wouldn't matter much. He was beaten by a 15 year old kid, and that was the fact he had to admit.

Then, Jeremy was jolted from his thoughts when suddenly the ground shook as if there was an earthquake. Warning signs flashed and sirens blared all along the room. Jeremy had never experienced this kind of disturbance before, but he could guess what was going on.

"Control, control, my 'mech is recording unusual vibration," he called to Jennifer. "What is happening?"

"We are under attack, I repeat, we are under attack," Jennifer confirmed his suspicion. "All hands to battle stations! This is not a drill!"

The practice room suddenly became frantic with ship crews running around. Jeremy opened the hatch, watching his team waiting at the feet of his 'mech. The ground shaking became harder, and everybody waited for his order. But Jeremy knew there was really not many options since his 'mech was incapacitated. He couldn't lead them to battle. His lance might even have to defend him, and he didn't want them to sacrifice their lives for him. He couldn't do it, especially to Mickey. The kid was a very loyal friend that really looked up to him. He didn't want Mickey to end up like his Lyran father.

"What do we do, Jeremy?" Mickey hollered with Hyolee clutching on his arm in terror. Panic was evident on everyone's faces as they steadied themselves from another jolt.

"I'm out of action here," Jeremy said. "Go to your 'mechs and keep your guns hot. Be ready for anything. If you have to leave the frigate, follow Lane Farlow and do what he says!"

"What about you?" Rita yelled over the din, concern in her voice.

Jeremy shook his head. "I can find my way. Now go!"


	7. Chapter 6 Planetside by Ulquiorra9000

**Chapter 6: Planetside, by Ulquiorra9000**

_**Frigate Keen Edge, Orbit of Gharna Prime,**_

_**Lyran Alliance, **_

_**3068**_

Gharna Prime's backdrop was one of serene beauty, a vast sea of steadily shining stars and vague blue and purple nebulae that could invited a viewer to endless reflection and contemplation. There was no need, however, for any reflection or thought for the pair of Clan vessels that popped into existence, exiting jump space.

The larger vessel was a frigate that bore the fearsome symbol of the Clan Steel Viper on its hull, the defiant snake staring down whoever looked up on it. Lights shone all along the hull besides the numerous turrets, the engines glowing a steady orange as the vessel pushed forward. Its compliment craft was only a large space fighter, shaped like four forward-facing knives attached to a pill-shaped central body. On the deck of the larger vessel, Khan Shuran Thomela stood before the bow window, his back to his crew. An officer approached.

"Lord Khan, we have exited jump and are prepared for your order," the man saluted. "What do you wish us to do?"

Shuran took a second to turn around, his dark green trench coat whirling as his booted feet clomped on the metal floor as he adjusted his footing. "All I want you to do is get that enemy frigate's guts ripped out," he growled, pointing at the enemy frigate, designated the _Keen Edge, _that drew closer. "Prepare the forward-facing large lasers and torpedo launchers, to be fired only on my order. I want a heavy barrage to be the first thing they see."

"Aff, sir!" the officer said, before motioning for the others to carry out Shuran's will. Meanwhile, a video comm panel slid down from the ceiling as the Steel Viper ship rocketed toward its prey, and the screen went from black to showing the familiar face of Theodore Romenicus.

"What do you want?" Shuran snapped at him, walking over to the panel to talk more clearly, putting his hands in his coat's pockets. The corner of Theodore's mouth twitched. "Shuran, are you suffering anxiety, quiaff?"

"Shut the hell up," Shuran bit back, turning away. He could see Theodore's blade-shaped vessel, the _Silent Inquisitor, _following the Viper ship and starting to get ahead. Somehow, Theodore's Stiletto was crammed in there too, and could be deployed on the battlefield as the _Inquisitor _flew overhead, a quick-drop. That fighter could run on auto-pilot too, allowing Theodore to sit in his 'mech while the fighter flew itself over a hot zone and deploy its master right into combat.

Theodore merely raised his eyebrows, which were as white as his spiky jaw-length hair that contrasted with his black trench coat and red shirt. Right now, most of that hair was tamed under Theodore's flight helmet, but the clear visor did nothing to hide those frigid, dull red eyes. No mercy or compassion was ever seen from them. "I am merely telling you that I am fully ready to engage," Theodore said presently. "All my weapons are locked, and I am prepared to execute any of the two dozen plans I have to destroy Prodigy Lance 10 and their Solaris allies. Unless you get them first? They have aroused your hatred, I can tell, and that always drives you to do better."

Shuran clenched a fist. Damn that Theodore surat and his piercing mind games! No matter, they were partners in this vital mission. A fleet any larger than this would arouse too much attention anyway. "Do whatever you want," Shuran spat. "I am almost in firing range, and it will be up to you to keep up. Over and out."

With a hand signal, Shuran had one of his men cut the video feed, the panel sliding back into the ceiling.

"Enemy vessel is in range! We await your order to fire, Lord Khan," a gunner called out. Shuran couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Open fire," he said, and the ship rocked as a flurry of vivid red large lasers and a full salvo of torpedoes were loosed at the enemy frigate, Theodore's own fighter adding to the fire.

**

There was another boom, and metal walls caved inward as another few lasers slammed into the hull, making fires burst into existence and burn precious on-board air. Sparks flew from the walls and support beams broke loose, sticking out and creating potential barriers. Red warning klaxons blared their warning from the walls as men scrambled, not to mention the Mechwarriors who were assembled in the practice room right after the practice duel.

Cassandra clutched at her brother's arm in fear, gripping much tighter than she meant as she trembled. "Why are we being attacked?" she cried over the din. Kyle removed her hands and rested his own hands reassuringly on her shoulders, looking his younger sister in the eyes to dispel her fear.

"Come on, we're going to fight back! We have to hang tight," he told her. "There's not much we can do yet."

The _Keen Edge's _own turrets opened fire, throwing their red bolts at the unseen attacker. Another blast shook the ship, forcing everyone to stagger and fight to keep their balance. A strange screaming sound issued from deeper inside the ship – air being sucked into the vacuum on a higher level, before emergency blast doors slid into place and sealed off the hull breach.

"Anyway, it's important that we prepare!" Lane shouted over the din, rallying everyone. "Listen! Lance 10, get to your 'mechs in the 'mech bay, and I'll join you there in mine. Solaris Mechwarriors, I trust you to do the same; non-combatants, get to the first transport shuttle you can reach in the hangar."

"What for?" Jessie roared back, the clamor of torpedoes and lasers frightening.

"In case we have to abandon ship! No one dies if I can help it!" Lane answered, motioning. "Get going! We may not have much time!"

"B-brother..." Cassandra whimpered, clinging to Kyle again.

"Come on, just get to a shuttle with the others! I'll be okay," Kyle assured her over the din, and Hyolee took the girl's hand and led her away as yet another pair of blasts caved in the starboard wall, metal screeching its deafening protest. The ceiling lights flickered, the power system struggling. Lane hurriedly got back into his Madcat, establishing a comm channel with Jennifer. "Jennifer! Can you identify the attackers?"

"One Clan heavy frigate, Steel Viper design," his Lancemate hurried to explain over the chaos, panic in her normally firm but gentle voice. "And a large fighter plane of custom make, believed to house a scout 'mech in its back half. The vessel has advanced systems and I can't read anything about it beyond those facts."

Lane nodded, powering up his Madcat and pressing his foot to the pedal to make it start moving. "Got it. Jennifer, get to the 'mech bay with the others. I don't want to lose you, either."

"Y... yes, Lance Leader," Jennifer said, concern in her voice before the connection was broken. Lane switched channels.

"Jeremy, can you move?" he asked hurriedly, his eyes on the damaged Apocalypse. He suddenly wished that they hadn't sparred and damaged each other.

Jeremy's response was gruff. "...No, my systems are barely working. I can hardly walk, and forget about me firing my guns."

Lane made up his mind. "Then I'm helping you to the 'mech bay. You're not going to be left behind either," he said, his Madcat twisting on its torso and pushing the Apocalypse toward the door that led to the 'mech bay, straining against the other 'mech.

"Come on... come on..." Lane gritted, the whole room buckling and sagging. If there was a vacuum created and the hangar door sealed off, they were trapped and would be finished. Hoping with all his might that the door didn't close or cave in, Lane worked his Madcat's controls as he made it push the Apocalypse toward the doors, making slow but steady progress. They were through the door now, closing in on the hangar. _Come on, ship, hang in there..._

"Lance Leader! We've reached the hangar and have powered our machines up," Makoto's crackling voice reported. "There's a pair of drop ships here too, enough to get us all out of here if need be. The rest got into a shuttle without any problems."

_There. Some good news, _Lane thought as he reached the hangar's opposite side, the others visible. "It's okay, Jeremy and I are here too. Lance, form up, they might try to board us – whoa!"

"Is that...?" Kyle started, his Shadowcat turning to face the menacing-looking space fighter that zoomed past the hangar's transparent shield wall, shaped like four knives bundled on a giant pill. He knew that shape...

"That's Theodore Romenicus' fighter!" Lane said in awe, his heart sinking. The Bloodline Eight were involved? "Remember it from our Ruan II mission?"

"All too well. He grounded us last time we fought against that thing," Kyle commented nervously, his Shadowcat prancing in place. Besides the Madcat, Shadowcat, Cougar, and Uziel of Lance 10, there was also Rita's Bushwhacker, Jessie's Nova Cat, Mickey's Jenner, and finally Jeremy's Apocalypse. Two full lances, but would it be enough? Lane was suddenly not so sure, and he made sure to hide his doubts.

"Everyone, prepare to board the drop ships if need be --" Lane started, before Theodore's ship swung around for another attack, firing a large laser from each dagger tip. Four corresponding shudders and explosions rocked the ship's hull around the hangar. The Mechwarriors had to fight to keep their machines balanced, frustrated as Theodore arced around for another attack, only to be deterred by defensive turrets.

"Yeah, back off," Lane muttered, watching the enemy fighter retreat. His careful optimism was dashed, however, when the ship came back, not firing its weapons but moving in an erratic pattern that sacrificed the ability to shoot in return to avoiding all the defense turret shots. The ship drew very close, still avoiding defensive fire.

"What's he doing?" Mickey wondered, his Jenner turning to watch the incoming fighter. "He's not even shooting at – no way!"

"Get back!" Lane roared, and everyone backed away as Theodore's space fighter closed in completely and slammed _into _the _Keen Edge. _Lane stared in horror as the space fighter clawed its way slowly into the hangar's side, its four knife-wings cutting into the hull and wrecking the hull's structural integrity. The whole ship began to crumple from they strain, as Theodore's ship had pierced several vital support beams and was pushing deeper into the ship, threatening to plow into the defending Battlemechs and destroy them.

Lane gritted his teeth. "He doesn't give up!" he hissed, making up his mind. The battle was lost, and he knew what they had to do. "Everyone, board the drop ships and get out!" he ordered, firing a cloud of LRMs at Theodore's ship to push it back and guy them time. "The transport shuttle, too."

"Understood, Mechwarrior Farlow," the shuttle pilot acknowledged, the craft firing up its engines and roaring out of the hangar, narrowly avoiding the laser shots that Theodore's ship fired as it crawled its way further into the hangar. Meanwhile, he and the other Mechwarriors got into the drop ships and dodged Theodore's laser fire, the Solaris taking the left ship and the Prodigies taking the right one. Lane settled his Madcat into its docking pylon as the bay door of the drop ship closed, the engines of the craft rumbling to life.

"And... we're away!" Lane told himself, as both drop ships took off, but not before two of Theodore's lasers connected, one on each ship. The drop ships recoiled but were not thrown off course, able to escape into the emptiness of space. Connecting his Madcat's dashboard to external cameras on the drop ship, Lane could clearly see the Clan Steel Viper vessel trashing the burnt remains of the _Keen __Edge, _as well as Theodore's ship cutting into the hangar and its engines flaring with the exertion. That fighter had to be made of advanced alloys and structurally streamlined to pull off such a tactic, Lane figured, but that was beside the point.

"I can get us to the surface, but it'll be a rough landing. We took a serious hit from that laser," the drop ship pilot informed Lane on his helmet comm. "Listen, I'm sorry but there is nothing we can do for the rest of the crew of the _Keen Edge. _They risked their lives so you could get to Hellgar II and take down the Blake staging point there. This is the best we can do for now; the Clanners won't be able to find us on Gharna Prime's surface, so we'll have to wait for rescue while we're there. And hope that the Gharna 'government' doesn't mind unexpected visitors like us."

Lane swallowed and nodded as the drop ship started to rumble from re-entry. Once grounded, the drop ships would be unable to take off again. He felt deep regret for the crew of the _Keen Edge, _but the pilot was right; that was behind him now, and the Clanners carried the day. Why did this have to happen, though? So much suffering and death has happened because of the Word and Clan offensive, and Lane could tell that something had been bothering Jeremy under the surface as well... was it related to the Blake invasion in some way he didn't know? Or related to the Clans? He would have to answer these questions and many others on the surface of Gharna Prime.


	8. Chapter 7 Stranded by RougeBaron

**Chapter 7: Stranded by RougeBaron**

_**Orbit of Gharna Prime,**_

_**Lyran Alliance, **_

_**3068**_

The dropship creaked and rattled as it burnt into Gharna Prime's atmosphere. Jeremy could imagine that the outer shell of the egg-like craft would probably running red hot by now. Jeremy always hated this part; the first time he experienced G-force burn was when he arrived at Solaris VII, and he had almost thrown up. This time it was even worse. The damage from the attack made the dropship unstable, and the vibration made him think that it might not stand a chance.

Miraculously, the dropship survived atmospheric entry. The vibration grew weaker with each passing minutes, culminating in a massive quake. Jeremy bit his lip, keeping himself from throwing up all over his HUD. It was only for a short while, but it felt like hours to him. His breaths came in short gasps, and his ears buzzed, almost to the point he thought his head was melting.

Soon, however, everything went quiet, a thick, heavy quiet.

"Phew," Rita called out through the comlink at last. "That was the roughest landing I've ever had."

"Hyolee, are you alright?" Mickey quickly checked on his girlfriend.

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied, trembling. "Oh my God, Mick, I'm really scared, I..."

"Hey. Everybody calm down, all right?" Jeremy tried to take control of the situation, although he was still shaken himself. "We're landed. We're saved. There's nothing to worry about. Jessie, are you OK?"

"I'm good," the ex Comstar agent replied firmly through private channel. "Hey Jeremy, is this line secured?"

"We haven't established communication link with the Prodigy Lance, have we?" Jeremy cocked his brows, not sure what Jessie was implying. "Is this necessary?"

"Look, this might not be the best time to bring this up, but I think we have to watch our backs here," Jessie whispered. "I have a suspicion that there's a mole among the Prodigy Lance."

"What?" Jeremy quickly checked his console to make sure nobody else heard the conversation. "What do you mean 'mole'? We're dead if not because of them!"

"Yeah, but how did the Clan know we're here?" Jessie argued impatiently. "Listen, Jeremy, I studied the Clans during my time at Comstar intelligence, and I'm telling you something is not right about what just happened! Gharna Prime is a world full of gangsters that will not benefit the Clans in any way. What are they doing here?"

"You're the one that brought us here!" Jeremy snapped. "You tell me what the Clans are doing here, why don't you?"

"That's my point, everything doesn't make sense so far," Jessie replied in a hushed tone. "The attack was well planned. They knew about us and what we're planning to do. Somebody from the Prodigy Lance leaked the information to the Clans. I read their profiles, and one of them is actually a Yamada. It's the family of traitors."

Jeremy wasn't trained in espionage, but he agreed with Jessie about the Clan attack. Their presence in Gharna Prime was not just a coincidence. He saw the Clan space fighter ripping the hull of the _Keen Edge _with relentless efficiency. The lack of batchall ritual and the use of surprise tactics was more than a proof that the Clans knew the _Keen Edge_ insight out, and opted to destroy it quickly. Jessie was right -- somebody gave them that information.

However, for an ex Comstar intel, Jessie was quick to accuse the Prodigy Lance. The leak could also come from Socrates crews. They knew they were going to Gharna Prime, and they could have easily contacted the Clans along the way. The crews of_ Keen Edge _might be dirty as well. Again, Jeremy was not properly trained in military intelligence, but he knew the Prodigy Lance was not the only source of leaks.

Just then, his console blinked. Lane Farlow tried to establish contact with him. "Jeremy, dropship command reported area clear of hostiles within a radius of 5 kilometers. We are in the middle of a rocky plain. I'm going to open the door and dismount the dropship."

For a moment Jeremy hesitated, thinking what might happen if Jessie was right. A horde of Clan mechs might have been waiting outside. Then again, he didn't see any other choice. Like it or not, he had to trust the Prodigy Lance. "My mech is busted, but my lance mates can still function. I'll tell them to be ready."

Jeremy switched to private channel to talk to his lance mates. "Alright, they're gonna open the bay door. Guns hot and get ready for anything. We are in potentially hostile territory, so when in doubt, shoot. I'll deal with the consequences." He cut off all comlinks except Jessie. "Keep our conversation between us. We'll talk about it later."

The bay door slid open and a blinding light flared into the dropship. It was so bright Jeremy had to shield his eyes for nearly a minute. Much to his relief, it was the only one that greeted Jeremy on Gharna Prime. Like Lane said, they were on a rocky plain with no visible life forms.

"Defensive formation around the dropship! Now!" Jeremy barked his order. Mickey was the first to jump out, followed by Jessie and Rita. The Prodigy Lance quickly followed suit. When he was fully adjusted to the bright environment, Jeremy exited his mech and walked out of the dropship. The temperature was way above comfortable level, and Jeremy already found himself sweating just by walking down the dropship ramp.

"Immortals, sitrep," he hailed his lance mates through his personal comset.

"There's nothing here, Champ," Rita reported. "My radar doesn't pick up anything."

"Nothing on me," Jessie added.

"The area is clean, Jeremy," Mickey tuned in. "Just like Lane told us."

"Mickey, scout the area," Jeremy didn't want to sit around and wait for his fate. "See if you can spot some civilizations around here. But be careful, we have heard nasty stories about Gharna Prime inhabitants. Rita, Jessie, hold your position. Switch to active radar."

"That'll give out our position," Jessie warned.

"We have no choice. Just do it."

As he switched off his comlink, Kilroy stepped out of the dropship. From the look on his face Jeremy knew he had inspected the Apocalypse, and his diagnostic was not good.

"Your gyro's busted," Kilroy sighed. "I told you to be careful playing with live rounds! If you didn't do it, you'd be up and running right now."

"Not now, Kilroy," Jeremy spurned Kilroy's complaint. "How do you fix it?"

"With a new gyro," Kilroy snarled. "But we left in a hurry. No spare gyroscope in the dropship."

Just then, his comset buzzed. With a long exhale, Jeremy flipped his comset. "Jeremy, I spotted what looks like a small city," Mickey reported. "Or maybe a fort, I don't know. I don't see any battlemechs in the area, but I can't confirm it since I'm too far from the site. I can get closer and gather more information..."

"No, no, that's enough," Jeremy told him, not wanting to jeopardize Mickey and Hyolee. "Maintain position and report any activity." Grinning, he turned to Kilroy. "We might be in luck."

"You wanna deal with the locals?" Kilroy shrugged skeptically. "Do you know what kind of people live in this planet?"

"I do, but we don't have any choice, do we?" Jeremy snorted. "What else do you suggest?"

Kilroy just looked into Jeremy's eyes in response. As much as he didn't like Jeremy's idea, he knew it was the only solution to their problem. The Apocalypse had to run. Raising his arm in defeat, he said, "Alright, whatever you say."

"Lane, my mech is done for, but Mickey spotted a nearby town," Jeremy informed Lane. "I'm pretty much useless without my mech, and the only way to fix it is to buy parts from locals. I think I'll check it out. Hopefully they have things we will need."

"We need parts for the dropship, too," Lane replied. "We'll go together."

"Copy that," Jeremy flicked his comset off, then shot a teasing smile at Kilroy. "There you go. There's a big Madcat going with us, possibly with an Uziel too. You don't have to be scared of the locals anymore."

Kilroy huffed in reply. "You jackass."


	9. Chapter 8 Cyclops Eye by Ulquiorra9000

**Chapter 8: Cyclops Eye, by Ulquiorra9000**

_**Bhukta Rock Plain, Gharna Prime,**_

_**Lyran Alliance, **_

_**3068**_

_Okay, it seems like even the weather doesn't want us to be here, _Lane lamented, watching the weather updates on his HUD that Mickey's scanner provided. He frowned under his neuro-helmet as he watched the information scroll across his screen, ignoring the steady up-down motion of his Madcat walking across the dry, rocky ground at a steady pace. It looked like a thunderstorm was brewing, blowing in from the south-south-east and would cover the area by nightfall. Perhaps this area would need it: it was rather dry here, and Lane was sure that the storm was going to herald a rainy season here or something. Whatever the reason, he needed to reach the town Mickey had located to see if the group could get back on their feet there.

"I've got a weather update from Mickey's scanners," Lane reported presently. "Do you have it too?"

"Yes, Lance Leader. I have background information on Gharna Prime, and we're most likely on the edges of the Bhukta Rock Plain, an area that's over three hundred miles in diameter, on the west half of the Taraman continent."

"Well, it's good to know where we are, at least," Lane laughed it off, but he couldn't help but feel nervous. He knew that the local branch of the Gharna Prime government here was known for housing much criminal activity and a thriving black market, run by local dealers who had armed employees to keep order and the illicit money flowing. Gharna Prime was like a diseased world, still alive with legitimate business but with corruption and crime thriving all over its surface. And now he and the Solaris were stuck here.

Lane gritted his teeth. _Why does this blasted planet have to be the ideal one for a jump to Hellgar II? _He groused. _And how we were ambushed by Theodore Romenicus and Shuran Thomela and grounded here! Without a doubt, they'll follow us here and hunt us down. I can only hope that we can find a way off-world before they find us. I'll bet that Theodore's extensive spy network helped him find us. Was a spy in our ranks, even? It's not impossible._

"Lance Leader, you're drifting," Jennifer warned him, her Uziel keeping pace on Lane's far right, its cockpit turned to face the Madcat.

"Oh, sorry," Lane apologized, realizing that in his reverie, he had allowed his Madcat to drift off-course and stray from Jennifer and the armored car that Jeremy and Kilroy rode in, with Kilroy behind the wheel. He radioed in to them. "Hey guys, what exactly are we looking for here again?"

"For one thing, a replacement gyro for Jeremy's 'mech," was Kilroy's clipped answer, his voice crackling a little as the armored car trundled along on its thick wheels, kicking up dust clouds. "The current one is wrecked from the spar against you, and there wasn't a replacement on board either drop-ship. So, we're getting a new one, I'm sure I can afford it. If not, I can barter with spare parts I brought along. Besides that, new parts for the drop-ships to get them running again. Problem is, one of them was badly damaged by that crazed space fighter and we may need to find a way to get it patched up. I doubt we can do it alone."

"There's bound to be at least one helpful person here, right?" Lane responded bracingly, the nearby city drawing close. "Gharna Prime isn't all bad, after all."

Kilroy's snort was audible. "We've got to be careful," he warned. "If anything else, be slow to trust and slower to accept anyone's help."

"Well, yeah," Lane winced. "And Jeremy, sorry if I busted up your gyro. That wound up providing an extra errand, right?"

"Wasn't your fault," Jeremy responded. "Really. We had no idea this would happen, and gyros are easier to get and use than some other 'mech parts. No biggie. Just leave the bartering to us, okay?"

"Got it," Lane responded, but he couldn't help feeling his heart sink a little more. His careful optimism was fading fast, in the face of the difficult and bewildering situation all of them faced. He didn't blame Jeremy or Kilroy for being on edge: they didn't like the situation any better than he did, and they had fled Solaris to find new help, only to wind up stranded on a crime-riddled world with two deadly Khans in hot pursuit. Great.

"Now approaching front gates. Lance Leader... this could be an issue," Jennifer updated cautiously, once her Uziel came close to the city's front gates: the entire metropolis, although small for a city, was ringed by a thick wall twice the height of a Battlemech, and two heavy turrets loomed down from the top of the gate arch.

"Hold position. Let's make this go as smoothly as possible," Lane ordered everyone, and both 'mechs and the car came to a halt. Lane was just wondering what was going to happen when a voice spoke up in his helmet comm, originating from inside the city near the wall.

"... I asked who the hell is out side our gates, heh? Answer! Answer!" the wheezing, demanding voice said into Lane's ear, startling him. He jumped and then addressed the other person.

"I... we are travelers, seeking business. We don't plan on causing any trouble," Lane told the speaker.

There was a second of silence. "...And I'll bet yer from the gov'ment's spy network, heh?" the voice responded sharply, but with an undertone of laughter. "Right?"

"No! I'm not a spy, nor are my companions. We are only here for business," Lane defended himself. "Besides, spies wouldn't be able to escape anyway. You can seal whomever you want inside your city, and I bet you'd be able to cut off the communications, too."

There was another few seconds of silence. "Ahahaha! Fine, you can come in, heh?" the voice laughed. "Enjoy your stay at Stare."

"At where?" Lane asked, but the voice had severed its connection. At the same time, the gate shuddered to life as the massive door slid down into the ground, revealing the wide avenue beyond, with slightly shabby office buildings, apartments, and other structures revealed beyond.

"It must be the name of this city," Jennifer pointed out as she tromped in, prompting Lane and Kilroy to tag along. "Let's not dawdle, all right?"

"Okay," Lane agreed, leading Jennifer to a 'mech hangar to rest their machines: no city would want fully armed Battlemechs stomping around, and Lane had to focus to avoid stepping on the fleets of cars and swarms of pedestrians who took up the streets and sidewalks. He was reluctant to part with his machine here, but Lane took comfort in the security systems Kyle and Cassandra had added to Lance 10's machines: it would take a team of master hackers to make off with their 'mechs, or even sabotage them. Once the Madcat and Uziel were parked and Lane and Jennifer climbed into Kilroy's armored car, Lane soon understood why this city was called Stare.

The central building here was a circular, gleaming silver building, a beautiful and ascetic structure that contrasted blatantly with the shabby buildings around it, like a king flaunting his riches before dirt-faced peasants watching helplessly. If Stare was a person, then that central building would have to be like a cyclops eye, staring outward from its ugly face.

Plus, all the commerce and major traffic seemed to take place around this silvery, central building: major highways linked it to the far corners of the city, and countless businesses and markets hugged its wall, like children crowding around a popular performer. That was the destination for the Prodigy-Solari group.

"The techie market should be right around... ah. Here we go," Kilroy said behind the wheel, turning to drive into a wide bazaar dedicated to machines and electronics. Here, numerous ground vehicles, military and civilian, were parked in various states of repair, along with engines and other parts set out for trade or salvage. No complete Battlemech was visible, plenty of 'mech parts were present, from legs to engines to missile launchers, and even a rusty Gauss Rifle sitting on a bed of pipes.

"Kyle and Cassandra would love this place," Lane commented as the foursome piled out of the parked car, and Kilroy nodded. "But those kiddos don't have a buyer's eye like I do. Tag along, everyone, and we'll make this quick."

Kilroy's earlier gloom seemed to be abated by his enthusiasm around all these machine parts, like a technician's paradise! Jeremy folded his arms and had a stoic look on his face, following along as Kilroy sought out the parts he needed. Lane, meanwhile, focused on cataloging this place. He saw plenty of mechanics, of course, garbed in tech uniforms of all different designs, indicating that they came from far and wide. Some men in strange garb were here too, men with shining black cloaks and tall, sharp collars. Lane wasn't sure who they were, but he figured that he simply wouldn't bother them. However, his group did attract attention.

"Where are you from? Gonna tell me, heh?" a merchant asked Kilroy, the man sitting on an engine part and looking up at his customer while polishing another engine piece with a white rag. The man had a scraggly black beard and a few missing teeth.

"Just the outskirts. I'm looking for a 'mech gyro, model..." Kilroy started, before listing a number of technical terms Lane couldn't understand but was sure Kyle and Cassandra could. The merchant shook his head.

"Nuh-uh, yer an off-worlder, heh?" the man said dismissively.

Kilroy blinked. "And just how could you tell?" he demanded.

The man grinned. "I've got that sense, my boy," he said mysteriously. "Ain't gonna bother with off-worlders who may steal our secrets, heh? Get outta my sight, okay? I'd rather not have this turn ugly."

Kilroy rolled his eyes. "Fine," he relented, motioning for the group to follow. The next two merchants were much the same, as well as many of their fellow customers, who often gave the foursome dirty sideways looks.

"What's the deal?" Jeremy grumbled. "Don't we look like paying customers? What's wrong with us?"

"The inhabitants of Gharna Prime are naturally distrusting of others, especially non-natives," Jennifer explained. "Plus, 'heh' must be part of a local dialect."

"Let's just focus, okay?" Lane urged them.

"Righto," Kilroy agreed, trying to ignore the fact that more and more of the Gharna Prime people here were recognizing their group as "the off-worlders", rallying them together against the foreigners. Rude comments and elbow jabs started to be aimed their way, along with xenophobic accusations.

"And this is why I don't like traveling all that much!" Jeremy commented shortly, deflecting a man's intrusive elbow with his own arm. "The natives!"

"Just ignore them, we can't provoke a fight –" Jennifer started, before she was interrupted by a loud voice.

"Hey girl, you got a nice ass," a young man commented, who was sitting on a bench where she had passed. Jennifer stopped to confront the man, but running short on patience, Lane snapped and stomped toward the offender.

"What's the problem, heh?" the young man asked Lane in a false friendly tone. "I was just saying that your girlfriend has a great – aaaaargh!"

"Shut up, punk!" Lane snarled, after he swung his fist at the man's face, the blow landing. The young man was sent sprawling, collapsing into a pile of junk.

"H-hey, we aren't supposed to be hitting people, that gives us trouble," Kilroy reminded Lane, moving onto the scene along with Jeremy. The young man wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and got back up, his eyes hard. A few passing people stopped to watch with interest.

"Curse you, foreigner! You little --" the young man growled, advancing on Lane. However, he was stopped again when Lane grabbed a fistful of the man's collar and yanked him close, within whispering distance.

"Why don't you get out of my sight?" Lane whispered with venom, his green eyes boring into the Gharna Prime man's startled ones. Lane let go, and the man scampered of, muttering, "Foreigners. Merdon One-Eye would have your head!"

"Lane, it wasn't worth starting a scene over!" Jennifer consoled her Lance Leader, after the crowd dispersed, losing interest in the concluded confrontation.

"I-it wasn't just that, Jennifer," Lane responded, clenching his fists at his sides, looking down. "I just... forget it."

Jennifer's worried eyes helped calm him down a little, and he looked up and said, "Come on, guys, at least one merchant here is bound to sell us that gyro, right? And maybe free directions to boot."

"I'm sure of it," Kilroy said bracingly. "We'll make better progress if we focus. But I wonder who that guy was referring to? 'Merdon One-Eye'?"

"Perhaps a local petty crime boss," Jennifer suggested with a shrug. "At any rate, stay on your toes."

The party set out once again to make a little progress on the world they had no choice but to stay on.


	10. Chapter 9 Blind Mission by RougeBaron

**Chapter 9: Blind Mission, by RougeBaron**

_**Stare, Gharna Prime, **_

_**Lyran Alliance,**_

_**3068**_

As the gang walked back into their armored car, Kilroy pulled Jeremy aside. "I don't think we can find a store as comprehensive as the one we just came in. I'm sure we can find everything we need to get out of here quickly."

"They don't want to deal with us," Jeremy replied in a sigh. "So we have to try another way."

"What if it takes time? You've seen these locals. I have a feeling they'd eat off-worlders for breakfast. The longer we stay here, the longer we expose ourselves to danger."

"What are you suggesting, Kilroy?" Jeremy demanded, starting to lose his cool. Kilroy was a great friend to him right from the start, but sometimes Kilroy's attitude aggravated him, especially in a dire situation like this. "This is a different world than Solaris. The locals play by different rules than Solarans. If they see us as crossing them, we will be stuck here for a very long time!"

"So I guess we're off to figure out their law, huh?" Kilroy scoffed. "Where? How? How long?"

"What does Solaris teach you about gathering information?" Jeremy started the car. "Taverns, Kilroy. Taverns and bars. In Vino Veritas... in wine there's the truth. Now get in. We'll find a local tavern."

Kilroy followed his command like an obedient puppy. Jeremy checked on Lane and Jennifer, then linked up with the satellite to pull up an overhead map of Stare. Several places lit up when he looked for bars. He picked up the closest one and drove off, navigating the busy streets.

The bar was located on a particularly busy street, so it took Jeremy a while to park the car properly. Hostile stares greeted the off-worlders as they stepped out of the car. Jeremy thought of bringing his katana with him, but in the end he left it inside the car, hidden under his seat. While he felt safer with a weapon, it also attracted unwanted attention, and made him a target. He just had to rely on his wit and his fists should trouble come.

One of these times, Jeremy swore he needed Amber by his side. That girl was a magnificent martial artist. For a moment he recalled his spar with her, an innocent friendly match that ended up being a bruising fight. He remembered the determination in her eyes. That kind of determination would surely useful in a hostile environment like Stare.

"Are you sure this is a good place to find information?" Jennifer asked.

"Yeah. Bartenders and servers usually hear a lot of things from drunk customers," Jeremy noted, looking right and left. "Sometimes we can also milk information from the customers themselves. But be careful," he paused, remembering Lane's sudden outburst earlier. "Drunk people can be very dangerous. Keep your eyes and ears open, your mouths closed, and your hands in your pockets."

Like any bars in Solaris City, this bar was full of people. The smell of alcohol filled the air, and the twangy, almost techno-like background music was almost drowned by liquor-induced conversations. Neon lights flashed advertisements and lighting effects on the walls and ceilings. Lucky for them, the customers were drunk enough to ignore the four newcomers. They easily slipped away and made their way to the counter at Jeremy's lead, where they sat right in front of the bartender.

Now the bartender was sober and working, so he gave the four the all-too-familiar distrust stare and nasty sneer they had been seeing all day. "What d'ya want, heh? Be quick about it, this bar's a popular one. Can't back up traffic too bad."

Taking a seat, Jeremy recalled his training to succeed his father, the head of Stewart family at New St. Andrews, many years ago. His father prepared him not only with Battlemech skill, but also with the art of negotiation, deception, and manipulation. It had been a long time since he last used those skills, but he reckoned it shouldn't be too hard against the bartender who wasn't trained at all.

"Four beers," Jeremy pulled out a 20-c-bill piece, "and a --"

"Wait, wait," the bartender interrupted him, waving a hand of denial as he flicked his gaze at Lane and Jennifer for a second. "You sure 'bout the kids, heh? They look kinda young to be drinking. Not that it's illegal in Stare, but drunk kids are nothing I want to see here. They could get into trouble and get their heads torn off if intoxicated, you know. Big mess."

Certain that the bartender was only screwing with him, Jeremy pressed on. "Don't worry about them. They can handle a pint or two just fine," he assured the bartender, sliding the 20 c-bill piece across the bar, past the tip jar. "Four beers, and one question."

The bartender curtly laughed. "The beers alone are 20 c-bills, you putz."

"Fine," Jeremy pulled another 20. "Merdon One-Eye. Tell me about him."

The bartender hesitated for a moment. "What business yerr have with him, heh?"

"If one question costs me 20 c-bills, it'll cost you the same," Jeremy took away the second 20, leaving the first one on the table. "Just beers, then?"

The bartender realized what Jeremy was doing. He popped up 4 bottles of beers, gave them to the foreigners, then started his story, "Okay, listen good. Merdon One-Eye came to this city long before it was called Stare and didn't have the central building. He got into a feud with the local crime lord and fought a hard turf war with another gang, but he won, though Merdon lost his right eye in the process. He lost that eye beating this former gangster who ran the whole town."

The bartender took a second to turn and roar a threat to a sloppy waitress before turning back and resuming, "Now, he rules over the town and builds a central round building as his base to commemorate his victory and dominance, and came to be proud of his one-eyed status, seeing it as proof of how..._ tough _he is. He made the city look like a cyclops when viewed from above to reflect Merdon's one eye, and called it Stare as a result. Like staring down the competition, daring them to make a move. He's got style, I tell you!"

"So he's like the godfather of the entire town," Kilroy tuned in.

"Yes, he is," the bartender grinned. "Now give me another twenty."

"That's not a question," Jeremy rebuked. "And even if it is, it's his question," he pointed to Kilroy. "He's paying for it."

"What?" Kilroy's head snapped. "Don't drag me into you play, Jeremy!"

"Then shut up!" Jeremy hissed. "Let me do my thing!"

"You owe me twenty, off-worlder!" the bartender shot a threatening stare at Jeremy. "Or perhaps you want to see how we deal with non-paying customers?"

"I tell you what," Jeremy kept his composure as he pulled a 50-c-bill. "Hook us up with Merdon. Tell him we have some business that he may be interested in. If this deal goes through, I'm sure Merdon will reward you handsomely. If not, at least you get to keep my 50."

"What kind of business?" the bartender croaked curiously.

Jeremy retracted his arm, smiling deviously, "Do you want me to answer that question for 50 c-bills?"

The bartender was blinded by greed. He snatched the 50 c-bills from Jeremy's hand, then went to the back for a moment. He came back with two guys with guns and mercenary-grade armor. "They will take you there," he grinned. "Thank you for your business, and do come back, heh?"

The two thugs escorted Jeremy, Kilroy, Lane and Jennifer out of the bar. There was a significant change with the hostile people outside: upon seeing Merdon's thugs they dismissed themselves, letting the group pass. Jeremy understood that Merdon ran the city with an iron hand; it made sense, since he took the city by force. To keep his position, he had to make sure that the party he beat didn't come back.

However, there was one thing Jeremy didn't understand: where was the official government of Gharna Prime? Why did it let Merdon ran the city the way he wanted? He remembered somebody accused them as government spies. If so, was the government planning to do something with Merdon? Somehow Jeremy felt the need to know the answer to those questions before he went to face Merdon. He should've stayed longer at the bar and fished more information from the bartender.

If only Kilroy didn't open his mouth...

It didn't take long until they arrived at the central building. The thugs led them through a maze of corridors and elevators, past a number of offices and work rooms. The building itself was exquisite, much different from the shabby structures outside the tall windows. This place reminded Jeremy of a newly constructed office building, mostly because it _was _one: this building commemorated Merdon One-Eye's victory over the previous warlord here, which hadn't been more than a dozen years ago. The walls were smooth and white, the carpets rich, and the air conditioning rumbled smoothly to keep everyone comfortable as clerks and business people worked at their station.

_Is this... really the right place? _Jeremy wondered, getting a sinking feeling. Surely the bartender hadn't sent them somewhere else to slow them down, and the bartender was in Merdon's pay? Or maybe, Merdon's real base was under this building for secrecy.

Jeremy's doubts vanished when he heard one thug say to the other, "Man. Wish I could be here at base more often, heh? I miss the air conditioning and water coolers."

"Hmmmm! Yeah. Being a thug doesn't mean much more than three hots and a cot every day," the other agreed. "But as long as boss is happy, so are we. I guess the clerks'll enjoy the commodities for us!"

The other thug laughed, and Jeremy suddenly understood. Apparently, Merdon had been determined to make himself impossible to uproot from Stare, so he had not only a capable fighting force on his side, but strong business ties as well. The more Jeremy looked, the more certain that the bulk of the commerce and paper-work business of Stare was Merdon's operations. Take him out, and he takes all his white-collar workers with him, crippling Stare's economy for years. If you want to stay in one place, plant your roots deep!

Before Jeremy could relax too much about the comfortable office building atmosphere, he saw that Merdon had put armed men on virtually every corner of the building, creating a sense of a fort instead of a palace. Perhaps Merdon intended it to be that way?

Arriving at a large room, they were greeted by a burly man with an eye patch, relaxing on a wide couch in the middle of the room. It was not hard to guess that he was Merdon One-Eye himself. One of the thugs went to talk to him while the other halted Jeremy and friends. Two more thugs came and stood next to the them with guns cocked and ready. After a minute of conversing in a hushed voice, Merdon motioned for the foreigners to approach him.

"I heard that you had a business proposition for me," Merdon said in a hoarse voice. "Usually people that come to me with a proposition only waste my time, since I need nothing. I kill people that waste my time. But I also heard that you brought two very valuable Battlemechs... a Mad Cat and an Uziel! I may need those Battlemechs for my own purposes, so up till now, you haven't wasted my time. So tell me what you are proposing."

"Our ship was attacked and damaged by a Clan force," Lane decided to speak up. "The only remaining dropship cannot lift off without some significant parts. Also, one of our Battlemechs needs a new gyro. We only need those parts. As soon as we get them, we will continue our journey and leave Gharna Prime. We have no intention of causing trouble in the meantime."

"Tell me, kiddo," Merdon grinned., the skin around his eye crinkling. "Why do you think I'm listening to you?"

"I – well, because..." Lane faltered. "Well, you said that we're not wasting your time, so you'd listen."

"True, but maybe I won't even consider what you're proposing," Merdon went on, his grin only broadening as he scratched his chin, his only eye fixed on Lane.. "Give me a reason to take your seriously."

"I know that if you got fed up with us, guards would be all over us," Lane said, looking around. "We can't leave right now, and either you'll consider my proposition, or you'll just haul us away. We're not being hauled away right now, so you apparently have the patience to listen and consider my words. If not, and you're just playing games, then I'm wasting my breath and will be thrown away anyway. Either way, I have to try. My party came here by choice."

"Haha. You're right, there's no way to tell if I'm taking you seriously or not, but it's indeed worth a try," Merdon grinned. "But you need to convince me further. I want something from you too. Got any offers to make?"

"Are you interested in c-bills?" Jeremy said. "I have more c-bills than the combined price of the Mad Cat and..."

"Ha! I have more c-bills than the government!" Merdon roared, his carefree attitude vanishing on the spot. "I have more than I need to buy the entirety Gharna Prime from the government. What I don't have is competent unit to carry my order. Now, I need something done, and if you agree to do it, maybe I can save you some extra c-bills for the parts. You know, the shop downtown won't be so willing to sell you cheap parts, if it is willing at all."

"And what is in your mind?" Jeremy queried.

"A guy in my position has a lot of enemies," Merdon turned on a hologram showing a group of people. "These are the Armand family. They have been a thorn in my flesh for some time. Years. I banished them out of Stare, but words on the streets says they're growing strong out there in the Bhukta Rock Plain. Don't ask me how they're doing it, but there's no doubt. I want you to find them and kill them all. Shouldn't be too hard with that Mad Cat and Uziel of yours, should it?"

Despite the lack of knowledge about the planet and this Armand family Merdon spoke of, Jeremy knew they had to take this job if they wanted to get off of Gharna Prime quickly and in one piece. He was a bit nervous, but he cheered himself up by thinking that the Prodigy lance should be able to finish the locals without much trouble. _What would it hurt?_ he thought carefully. _We'll get cheap parts and some fighting experience. That'll be critical against the Word of Blake._

"We are professional Mechwarriors," Jeremy finally said. "Our allegiance is to the highest bidder."

"Good, good!" Merdon chuckled. "When you bring the Armands' heads, your parts will be waiting for you. But don't you ever try to double cross me," his voice turned dark. "I will hunt you down and kill you if you do! Have no doubt of that!"

"Understood," Lane replied. "Thank you for your generosity."

"These men will lead you out," Merdon nodded. "Have a good day, and don't come back until you complete the job."

As they got out, Jeremy leaned toward Lane and muttered into his ear, "We don't know much about the planet. You can take Mickey with you. He's a good scout. Leave Rita and Jessie to defend the dropship."

"We could use the Nova Cat's firepower," Jennifer stated. "We don't know the enemy's numbers or their preferred tactics."

"Well..." Jeremy hesitated a bit. He remembered his conversation with Jessie about a possible double agent among them, and he didn't feel Jessie would be a good help for the Prodigy lance. His attitude could create friction, especially with the Yamada. "Rita alone can't defend the dropship, if something happens."

"All right, then it's settled," Lane concluded. "Let's do it."


	11. Chapter 10 Landfall by Ulquiorra9000

**Chapter 10: Landfall, by Ulquiorra9000**

_**Bhukta Rock Plain, Gharna Prime, **_

_**Lyran Alliance,**_

_**3068**_

There were too many squarish footprints on the dusty ground for anyone to even keep track of, what with Mickey skittering around in his Jenner like a hyperactive child. His circuits in the area were wide and erratic, his 'mech often getting stuck on random rocks and boulders. Makoto was sitting on the nose of his shut-down Cougar, the cockpit glass open to keep the inside from becoming like a greenhouse as Makoto watched Mickey with increasing irritation.

"Try to have some focus already," the Yamada Mechwarrior muttered, feeling the dry Gharna Prime wind playing with his hair as he shifted to a more comfortable position, the better to keep his leg from falling asleep. At the moment, he felt safest on top of his silver and red Battlemech a few 'mech paces from the dropship, watching Mickey take his turn patrolling while Jeremy, Lane, and the others were visiting the city Jessie had detected.

Makoto snapped. He picked up his comm and communicated with Mickey directly. "Hey. You're not walking a dog in a park. You're missing a lot of area wandering around like that. Someone could get past you easily."

There was a seconds-long pause before Mickey's restless voice spoke back. "Rest easy, Makoto. I've got good sensors on this thing and the wind makes it kind of hard to keep walking straight."

"Nonsense. I pilot a 35-tonner and I don't get wind problems," Makoto said back, rolling his eyes and allowing that mood to seep into his tone. He felt an itch on his back but ignored it, his skin feeling a little clammy from sweating in uniform.

"Well, my patrol's almost over anyway. I'm sure Rita'll do a stellar job once she watches over us," Mickey joked, but Makoto could hear slight irritation underneath, and Makoto instantly felt a twang of guilt of being hard on Mickey. Everyone here was on edge, and Makoto shouldn't take out his own frustration on the others like that.

Shaking his head, Makoto gave a short reply of affirmation before closing the link. He sighed and slipped the device into his pocket, standing up to walk across his Cougar's nose and back to the cockpit, in order to climb down the ladder and check on the others. Perhaps they would have an update to share with him.

"Anything new?" Makoto asked once his feet were back on the ground and he was walking in his parked Cougar's massive shadow. He found Kyle and Jessie near the open door of the dropship, with Kyle tinkering with an open component of the communications device sitting on a table.

Kyle wiped his brow and stood at his full height, turning to face Makoto and shading his eyes from the glaring afternoon sun. "Something's wrong with the long-range comm devices, and we can't get a signal further than one mile. Most likely, a component is fried. I'm trying to find out which one it could be."

"Yeah. And just how long have Jeremy and Lane been away, anyhow?" Jessie grumbled, folding his arms and leaning against the dropship's dinged hull. "Been forever."

"I've been thinking that too, but for now all we can do is hold our own here. The scouting party's bound to have found something if they've been gone this long. Maybe they ran into trouble, but let's not get negative too soon."

"Hey, Makoto's being a positive thinker! Someone write that down!" an excited voice said, and Cassandra emerged from the dropship's interior, carrying several mechanical parts under her arm. She waved hello to everyone, her yellow hair ribbon providing some color against the gray ship hull and dusty ground. She walked over to Kyle's work table and dumped the parts on an exposed surface.

"I'm not a pessimist. I just have to be realistic. It comes with the job," Makoto defended himself, folding his arms.

"I jest, Makoto. I'm also sure that the scout party found something to help get us back into space and on our way to Hellgar II," Cassandra assured him, clasping her hands behind her back. "Kyle, were those te parts you wanted? I insist, I could work on the electronics systems just as well as you, but..."

"It's fine. I need something to distract myself right now, but thanks for the parts," Kyle said to his sister, taking a part and starting to screw it into the opened comm device. "This thing... should be... almost fixed. We should be in touch soon."

"Goody. I need something to distract myself too," Cassandra said, prancing over to Makoto, who recoiled in alarm to her proximity. "Why don't we play a word game, Makoto? You look uneasy as well."

"No games! I'd like to get in the shade for a while," Makoto said, edging away from her and to the ship. The younger girl followed.

"Not even twenty questions? I'm thinking of an object..."

"Is it bigger than a person?" Makoto asked, walking without even facing Cassandra.

"Yeah. Second question now."

"Is it made of metal?"

"Yup!"

"Is it my Cougar Battlemech?"

"You're good! Only two questions," Cassandra applauded Makoto, grabbing his wrist to stop him from walking away. "Your turn. A person, place, or thing. Think of a good one."

"Okay, I'm thinking of an object," Makoto said impatiently. "It's the comm device you should be helping your brother fix."

"W-wait! You can't give it away like that. Choose another one," Cassandra protested, starting after Makoto again as he sauntered into the open bay door of the grounded dropship. "Don't be a spoilsport."

"Hey. Hey, I've got it!" Kyle cried out in triumph, slamming closed the open panel of the comm device and standing back up. He tapped a hand on the device's metal top. "All fixed. We can send and receive signals of all types with this. If Jeremy's group has an update for us, we'll hear it."

"Oooooh, that's good!" Cassandra agreed, rushing to the comm device to inspect it. "I can't wait for something to happen. I'm liking this planet less and less."

"That goes for all of us, kiddo," Rita grinned as she passed by, exiting from the ship. "I'm going to replace Mickey on the patrol. My Bushwacker needs some exercise, so to speak."

"O-okay. I'll be right here," Kyle agreed as Rita brushed past him.

"Don't be shy. She's your friend now," his sister cajoled.

"Whatever," Kyle rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I'm going to – what?"

Kyle stopped, as a large shadow slid over the scene and cooled the hot rock plain air.

"Behind you," a voice on the comm device said, and everyone whirled around to see a bizarre ship approaching from behind the grounded dropship. Everyone recognized the four-winged design of Theodore Romenicus' personal fighter, and the shadow overhead was being created by a Clan dropship settling down from the heavens.

"We're being attacked!" Jessie warned everyone, motioning. "Back into the dropship! Kyle, Rita, Makoto, get ready to fight with me. Cassandra, stay safe in the dropship until this is all settled, got it?"

"Y-yeah. I'm going!" Cassandra said nervously, retreating back into the ship with everyone else as the two newcomer ships drew closer.

Makoto hurried across the open ground to his Cougar, suddenly wishing that he had parked it closer to the dropship. His fears were eased a little when he climbed up his 'mech's ladder and settled into the cockpit, pressing buttons to make the 'mech lurch and rumble to life. He was just in time; the Cougar's weapons systems came online just as Theodore's ship roared past, dropping off the familiar small Stiletto 'mech as it went. The Clan dropship touched down, a single Thor painted red and black disembarking.

"Battle channel! Can everyone read me?" Jessie demanded in Makoto's ear.

"I read you," he said as Kyle, Rita, and Mickey said the same.

Assuming leadership of the defense, Jessie simply ordered, "Fire at will and don't hold back! I get the feeling there aren't just two enemies for nothing."

He was right; Makoto remembered that Shuran Thomela, the Steel Viper Khan, piloted Thor with deadly skill, just like Theodore in his Stiletto. There was little time to waste as the bullets started flying.

"I recommend we take out the Thor first. It has more firepower," Makoto put in. "The Stiletto by itself wouldn't have much of an advantage just having speed."

"Good advice. Focus on the Thor!" Jessie ordered, and he sent a large laser in the Thor's direction to start things off. The Thor moved to avoid the red beam, turning around to find Mickey's Jenner dashing by, loosing an SRM 4 salvo along with two medium lasers.

Not amused, the Thor dodged that fire too, its PPC striking rather close to one of the Jenner's rapidly moving feet, blasting the ground and making the Jenner lose balance and nearly fall. The Stiletto was quick to pounce on its prey, throwing an Ultra Autocannon 10 burst at it.

Recognizing the attack as potentially lethal, Makoto focused all his aim on his two arm-mounted medium lasers, able to fire the green bolts and melt th Ultra Autocannon rounds in mid-air and spare the Jenner. Taking advantage of superior numbers, Rita's Bushwacker and Kyle's Shadowcat advanced as a pair, with an Autocannon 10 and Gauss Rifle attack aimed at the Thor. Still defiant, the Thor took to the air with its jump jets, the ballistic attacks sizzling through the air under its feet.

"Focus!" Jessie insisted, his PPC grazing the airborne Thor's arm and searing off some of its left arm's armor. He was forced back from an UAC 10 attack from the Stiletto, which had slipped into his blind spot. Meanwhile, Mickey was back on his feet, his quartet of medium lasers punishing the Stiletto from behind and discouraging the attack on Jessie.

"I owe you one," Jessie commented as the Stiletto broke off, prancing around to find a better angle. "These guys are Khans, all right. Makoto, any advice? You've fought them before."

Makoto thought for a second. "Don't let one attack at a time go at them. Try multiple angles," he said, and Rita was quick to adopt this strategy, firing two LRM 5s as she moved away to fire a large laser from elsewhere. Makoto's own Autocannon 10 was added to this, and the combined fire overwhelmed the Thor, all landing. The Stiletto was driven back from Kyle's lasers and machine guns, the two Khan-piloted Battlemechs forced to bunch up and cover each other's backs.

Driving the two Khans back to back proved to be a mistake, however. Their combined fire left nowhere to run in the open battlefield, and the defending Mechwarriors didn't want to take cover behind the dropship and risk having the Clanners destroy it to get to them. The Thor's LB-10X rounds sprayed everywhere, like a rapid-fire shotgun that ripped through everyone's armor. The Khans refused to fall as the battle progressed, the Khans' impeccable aim and timing had the defenders limping along, their armor worn through.

"They... haven't won... yet!" Makoto gritted, his SRM 4 sent at the Stiletto as he backed the missiles up with an Autocannon 5 burst and Kyle's lasers. The Khans avoided the attacks, the Stiletto's UAC 10 striking Kyle's Shadowcat's torso and knocking it over. Makoto rushed forth to assist, only to see the Thor move up to the staggering Nova Cat and position its PPC barrel right at the Nova Cat's cockpit.

"Jessie!" Makoto warned, too late; with a pull of the trigger, Shuran in his Thor could vaporize Jessie on the spot, and the rest of the combatants were forced to halt.

"Get Jeremy Stewart and Lane Farlow here. Now," Shuran's demanding voice said on the public battle chatter.

"Wait... why?" Kyle questioned.

"They are the ones we want. Some of the others are missing too," Shuran answered. "There are five of you; three missing, so I suppose that one more had left along with Jeremy and Lane. Does not matter. Which one of you can hail them to bring them back?"

"I – I can," Jessie said faintly, aware of the PPC barrel pressed right against his cockpit canopy.

"Very good. Contact either Jeremy Stalwart or Lane Farlow and summon them back here. Invent whatever story you need to convince them that they have good reason to return," Theodore ordered. "Refuse, and you die, Nova Cat pilot. Then the rest of you will, too. We have a Star Adder binary and Steel Viper binary in orbit in dropships for emergencies. Will you comply?"

Makoto could almost hear Jessie's jaw working, his own breathing rapid in fear and anger. From bad to worse!

"Fine. I-I'll get them here," Jessie said shortly. "Whatever they're doing, I'm sure the scout group can be here within an hour. Give me a second."

Jessie fumbled with the comm in his cockpit, aware that no one would be able to shoot the Thor's arm off in time to save him; Shuran Thomela's reaction times were too good. Presently, Jessie sent a message to Jeremy's private comm. "Hey, Jeremy. Listen, uh, there's a band of travelers here who say they can help us, but you're the one in charge and you have the cash. Can you get back to the dropship and help work something out? Thanks."

Jessie sighed heavily and set the comm back down. "I got the message away," he told his captors. "Won't be long."

"Good," Shuran said flatly.

_There's got to be a way to get out of this. There's got to, _Jessie thought fervently. _Jeremy, Lane, you guys better come up with something good once you're here._


	12. Chapter 11 A Hair Away by RougeBaron

**Chapter 11: A Hair Away, by RougeBaron**

_**Bhukta Rock Plain, Gharna Prime, **_

_**Lyran Alliance,**_

_**3068**_

The horror overwhelmed Jeremy so much he forgot to breath - a Thor holding its arm on Jessie's cockpit, while a Stiletto loitered about and around the dropship, as the Bushwacker, Jenner, Cougar and Shadow Cat stood mesmerized. Jessie's earlier message about a band of travelers made him excited about the possibility of buying parts without dealing with local mafia. Alas, the reality was worse that it already had been.

"Stop the car! Stop the car!" Jeremy grabbed Kilroy's shoulder in panic. He tried to assess the situation, but with his heart beating twice its normal rate, it was hard to think. His mind was polluted by adrenaline, and he didn't want to make a rushed decision. It was still vivid in his memory how a poor judgment had ended up in a disaster.

Unfortunately, he had to make a decision quickly.

"Uhm... this is Jeremy Stewart, leader of the Solaris Immortals," Jeremy spoke on his comset. "Whoever you are, I am sure we can solve this without violence..."

"Shuran," suddenly Lane interjected. "Why am I not surprised."

"You have come a long way, Farlow," somebody on the other end responded. "Exit your 'mech and surrender, or I will vaporize your little friends here."

"You can't take on all of us, Shuran," Jennifer joined in. "We outnumber you 3 to 1."

"You think?" the guy called Shuran shot a curt reply. "We have two binaries waiting for orders. You have no chance to escape. Surrender, or face total annihilation."

Well, surrender meant death, but refusing to do so would cost Jessie. Perhaps one death could save everybody's life, or even help them to get out of the planet. But still, Jeremy didn't want to sacrifice somebody. He never had to, and he would never want to.

Then he remembered his angry spar with Amber sometime back in Solaris City. Jeremy was in a blind rage, and Amber didn't want to hurt him, but she had to do it to survive him. She knocked Jeremy's wrist, dismantling him from his weapon. Jeremy could still feel the burn on his wrist, but it also gave him an idea.

"Lane, Jennifer, how good are your shooting skills?" Jeremy cautiously contacted the Prodigies.

"What?" Jennifer's high-pitched tone shrilled on his comlink. "What does it have to do with anything?"

"Hit the Thor's arm with your PPC," Jeremy told his idea. "Hit it at the same spot to breach it. But don't miss, Jessie's life counts on your fire."

With a quick swivel Lane and Jennifer lined up their torso with the Thor. Their PPCs flashed in unison, and four man-made lighting bolts hammered the Thor's right arm. Only three of them made their target, but it was enough to score critical hit. The PPC incised the slender upper arm of the right hand. As the Thor staggered backward, its arm spun in the air and crashed onto the dropship.

"Immortals, pour in the Stiletto!" Jeremy screamed on his comlink.

Mickey and Rita boxed in the Stiletto and trapped it in a crossfire. Lasers bolts and missiles formed a cobweb that enveloped the Stiletto in the center. The Stiletto ducked and flinched, limiting itself to a couple of laser hits on the torso. But Jessie joined the fray and hurled his PPCs at the light Clan mech. One bolt slammed into the Stiletto's rear, almost toppling it.

The Thor regained balance and targeted the Uziel. The Clanner's deadly precision tore a deep gash on the Uziel's right torso. The Uziel reeled, backpedaling on its wobbling legs, trying not to fell backward. Black smoke twirled from the crack, partially exposing the machine gun bins.

Kyle and Makoto quickly protected Jennifer from further damage. Their lasers peppered the Thor's waist, turning rear armor into dripping molten metal. The Thor turned to face the attacker, exposing its right side to Lane. The Mad Cat launched its missiles, busting the weak armor on the waist. Molten armor flew to every direction. The Thor swayed, trying hard to keep standing.

Meanwhile, the Stiletto regained balance and open fire at Rita's Bushwacker. The UAC10 punched a hole on the Bushwacker's left torso, dangerously breaching its left arm. The Bushwacker fired its missiles to distract the Stiletto, but it only made the situation worse. Half of the missiles slammed into the Nova Cat's feet.

"Hey! Watch your fire!" Jessie cried out.

"Sorry!" Rita replied halfheartedly. "I'm getting creamed here! Work with me a little!"

Mickey sneaked behind the Stiletto and launched his missiles at the unsuspecting Clanner. The Stiletto, still busy with the Bushwacker, bowed forward and dropped to one knee. Mickey's salvo ripped several power conduits, turning the Stiletto vegetative momentarily.

"Nice shot Mickey!" Jeremy roared, excited. "Jessie, clean up that bastard! Now!"

Jessie turned his Nova Cat and trained all weapons at the immobilized Stiletto. For a moment death was certain for the Clanner, until Jessie hit his alpha strike button… PPC and laser bolts sailed past the Stiletto's head and harmlessly blasted a crater on the ground. Pieces of ground and mud filled the air, clouding the vicinity. The Stiletto, unfortunately, remained intact.

"What the hell?" Jeremy couldn't believe his eyes. Jessie was standing less than 100 meters away from the Stiletto. He understood that PPC was a long-range weapon and notoriously ineffective in a close-quarter combat, but who could miss a point-blank shooting? Even somebody with rudimentary skill of Battlemech gunnery would not miss that shot. "How could he miss? How could that sonofabitch miss?"

"That was the stupidest shot I've ever seen," Kilroy chirped, rubbing his forehead in total disbelief. "Even I could've done better than that. You'd better take him off that Nova Cat, Jeremy. He'll get somebody killed."

"Jessie what the hell are you doing?" Jeremy screamed his lung out. "Mickey, Rita, smoke the Stiletto! Now, goddamit! Now!"

But the Stiletto found a way to bypass the damaged power lines and juiced up its myomer. It jumped forward and used the mud cloud as a smoke screen. Mickey and Rita opened fire at the last position of the Stiletto, but the Clan mech used its speed to clear the area. When the mud cloud subsided, the Stiletto was out of range. The Thor decided to follow its comrade, turning its back from the battlefield.

"We can catch them, Lane," Makoto said through the open channel. "Kyle and I are fast enough to shadow them, while you and the Solaris Immortals follow us…"

"Negative, stand down," Lane replied. "They will rendezvous with their binaries. Besides, we can catch up with Shuran but not Theodore. His Stiletto is too fast for everybody, except maybe Makoto."

Jeremy leaned in his seat, burying his face in his palms. As the leader of the Immortals, he has to take the blame for the failure of killing Theodore. "Lane, I take the responsibility. Jessie is my subordinate, and I should have done a better job knowing who's capable of doing what."

"Theodore's death would definitely help us in our struggle," Lane said with noticeable disappointment in his voice. "But we will have another time. There are more important things to take care of. The Clanners know our position, so we will have to move."

"Great!" Jeremy puffed out his frustration as he switched off his comlink. "I'm getting lectured by a 15-year-old."

"He's right, though," Kilroy rebuked. "We're lucky there were only two of them. If they decided to go all binaries, we would've been dead. We have to move, and we have to move fast."

"Yeah," Jeremy let out a long sigh. He was about to call his lance when Kilroy stopped him.

"Be careful what you tell them," Kilroy said cautiously. "The Clanners know our position. They may have tracked us after our ship was destroyed, or somebody let them know."

"A mole?" Jeremy squinted. Jessie mentioned about it a while back, and it sounded logical now. "You know, Jessie said a similar thing, although he immediately suspected Makoto as the mole."

"The Yamada family is known to have defected to the Clan side," Kilroy mused, "but it doesn't mean Makoto did the same; he chose to stay loyal to the Draconis Combine when the rest of the Yamadas left. There are too many unknowns here. We only know that you and me are clean."

"And Mickey," Jeremy added, "and Hyolee."

"So be careful, my friend," Kilroy tapped Jeremy's shoulder. "If you play it wrong, we all die."

Jeremy nodded his approval, then open communication line with his lance. "Immortals, fall in." He exited the armored car and waited until Mickey, Rita and Jessie lined up before him.

"Jeremy, I can explain…" Jessie immediately tried to justify his action.

"No," Jeremy quickly cut him off. "Listen, the Clans know our position. We will have to move out. You have ten minutes to take everything you can bring into your cockpit. Mickey and Hyolee will ride with you. Jessie, you will help Kilroy mount as much ammunition as possible into the armored car. I will take your Nova Cat."

"What? You dispossess me?" Jessie growled. "That's not fair, Jeremy. Anybody can miss that shot!"

"We don't have time for this," Jeremy replied firmly. "The Clans may come back in greater number, and we certainly don't want to be here when it happens. Do what I say."

"What about the Apocalypse?" Mickey asked.

"There's no way we can take it in its current condition," Jeremy said morosely. "We'll just have to leave it with the dropship. Now go and do your job."

As everybody scrambled to get anything from the dropship, Jeremy walked to meet Lane. "My lance will be ready in 10 minutes. What do you have in mind?"

"We still have a mission with Merdon," Lane said, turning for a second to look out at the rock plain. "We need to do it for the Apocalypse's replacement parts. But we have to leave the dropship now, so we may have to find another dropship."

"We are one mech short, but I will be in the Nova Cat for a while," Jeremy stated. "I can give you a hand if you need it."

"Good," Lane surmised. "Let's think about that later. Now we have to leave this place."


	13. Chapter 12 Tempting Offer by Ulquiorra90

**Chapter 12: Tempting Offer, by Ulquiorra9000**

_**Bhukta Rock Plain, Gharna Prime, **_

_**Lyran Alliance,**_

_**3068**_

There was nothing else for it but to look for the Armand family's outpost right here, and right now, Lane figured. Right now, the drop ship was being moved several miles away from its former location to make it harder for the Clanners to find; hopefully, there would be a natural formation around to hide it, or maybe a shady spot for relief from the hot sun on the rock plain. Of course, the best situation was that the Clanners left them along until they could get back on the frigate _Keen Edge _and reach Hellgar II to complete their original mission. That was wishful thinking, however, so Lane knew that acting sooner than later would be necessary.

"Got any ideas?" Jeremy prompted, and Lane snapped out of his thoughts to lay down his battle plans.

"Listen, we need to act now. There's no time to waste, for a multitude of reasons," Lane started, gathering Jeremy and Jennifer to explain. A hot, dry wind began to pick up, flicking at everyone's hair as it howled across the Bhukta Rock Plain. "That Nova Cat is going to help, I can say that. What we're going to do is carry out the assignment Merdon One-Eye gave us, which is destroying the outpost of this Armand family. I don't know where it is, but there's nothing out here on the rock plain except, well, dirt, rocks, and us, so any kind of human habitation is going to be easy to find."

"And we take them out when we find them, preferably before sunset," Jeremy nodded, shading his eyes to look at the sun that as halfway toward the horizon. It had to be at least mid-afternoon, and time was running out. "We've got two heavy 'mechs and one medium with us, all damaged to some degree. We'll have to be careful about this, or our troubles will become too much to deal with. An angry Merdon is not what we want."

"No way," Lane shook his head. "For that reason, Jennifer will use her Beagle Active Probe to find the Armand settlement, outpost, whatever before we get in range of whatever weapons they have. Jeremy, your 'mech's long-range weapons can help me disable or destroy the Armand defenses before they can hit back."

"Take them down outside of their reach," Jeremy summarized. "It's our best shot at taking them down fast, and avoiding further damage. I'll bet we could salvage their stuff, too. Merdon never asked us to bring him anything except for the Armands' heads. Whatever else we find is ours to keep."

Lane's eyes widened in excitement. "You're right," he realized. "Good point. We might find a replacement gyro in there anyway! Then we can just pocket whatever Merdon pays us."

The wind was starting to get really heavy by now, and it was kicking up loose sandy dirt and dust as well, making Lane's eyes water and sting. He blinked a few times then rubbed his eyes. "Shoot, wind's picking up. Hopefully, we can operate outside the sandstorm's densest area. If not, well, there' still the Beagle Active Probe Jennifer has."

"Agreed. Let's go," Jennifer suggested, and the three of them climbed into their respective 'mechs' cockpits without any further delay. Feeling driven by a renewed sense of purpose and direction, Lane first checked that Jeremy and Jennifer could hear him loud and clear, and then he contacted Jessie.

"Jessie. Do you read me?" Lane asked, hoping that the sandstorm wouldn't interfere with communications too much. Luckily, Jessie came through, though with some static from the airborne sand particles.

"I read… you, Lane," Jessie's voice answered back. "What are… what are you guys… to?"

Lane presumed that Jessie asked "what are you guys up to?" so he got his Madcat moving forward as he answered, "Jeremy, Jennifer and I are going to carry out the mission that Merdon One-Eye gave us."

"Wait. Who is Mer… Eye?" Jessie's voice crackled back.

_Oh yeah, we never really explained that, _Lane realized. He gave Jessie the rundown as the sandstorm picked up, the swarms of sand grains hammering against his cockpit's glass. "Look, the ruler of the city, Stare, is named Merdon One-Eye. He'll give us money for a new gyro if we carry out his mission, which is to find and destroy a vagrant family called the Armands. The Armands live out here somewhere, so we're going to take them out and complete Merdon's assignment."

"We're out here… -out your help," Jessie pointed out. "While y… carry out your mission. We… not have much protection here."

"The sandstorm should keep you all hidden," Lane assured him. "And it'll take at least a few hours for the Clanners to return, even if they come back first chance they get. Hopefully, we can get paid by Merdon and start repairs by nightfall. Just hang tight, okay?"

"I… -stand. I We leave it to you, then," Jessie's voice acknowledged at length. "Good hunting."

"Uh-huh. Over and out," Lane told him and cut the channel, then addressed his companions. "Storm's picking up. We need to find the Armands, and fast."

"Yes, sir. Though my Probe hasn't picked anything up yet," Jennifer said back, her Uziel barely visible in the clouds of sand and dust. Over the gritty howling of the wind, Lane could barely hear the footsteps of the Uziel and Nova Cat walking with him. According to system readouts, Lane knew that his group was moving toward Stare again, since he figured that they'd sweep a full circle around the city and make winding orbits outwards, since the Armands would probably not be more than a few miles away from the city limit in order to have easy access to the roads leading to and from Stare. Over an hour passed and still no luck, as three orbits around the city yielded no results and the sandstorm refused to light up.

"Maybe we could collect all this sand and sell it to a golf course for its sand traps?" Lane joked out of frustration as his group started their fourth orbit around Stare, moving even further from the city wall.

"Hush, Lane. We'll find them," Jennifer reassured him, though her tone wasn't much different than his. This trip to Gharna Prime was only getting worse and worse, and Lane knew that everyone would agree with him. Worse, the armor damage meant that stray sand particles could get into some of his 'mech systems, and some of his non-critical systems had become clogged by sand, including his radar. That Beagle Active Probe was his only pair of eyes right now.

Lane wondered, too, about the problem of a possible spy in their ranks. Jessie and Jeremy and a few others had voiced their concerns that a double agent on the _Keen Edge _had caused the ship to be found by Theodore and Shuran, and that agent could still be running loose. If that agent was still operating, then the group was still far from safe even in the cover of a sandstorm. Gritting his teeth, Lane had to resist the impulse to pound a fist on his cockpit's dashboard. Why wasn't anything going right? Why did there have to be so many unknowns and risks here? This wasn't het way it was supposed to be!

Oh, well. Lane calmed down, and figured that it was likely that a rank-and-file crew member of the _Keen Edge _had been the double agent, and probably in the pay of Theodore too. It wouldn't be the first time: after returning to New Star League space from Dire, Theodore had replaced a Colonel with a double agent who had suppressed Lane's Prodigy memories and forced him to train to re-gain them on Tuani IV. There was no way that Jennifer or Kilroy or Jessie or Kyle would be swayed like that… right?

"There! I have something," Jennifer's voice said excitedly on the comm, and Lane jumped. "What have you got?" he asked her urgently, his heart suddenly beating harder.

"Four defense towers, equipped with 'mech grade weapons," Jennifer reported. 626 meters to our north-north-west, on the same level as us."

"Jeremy, time to get out the long-range stuff," Lane suggested, and Jeremy agreed, his Nova Cat pushing through the sandstorm to take up position by the Madcat. Jennifer's green medium lasers could not hit the towers from this range, but they point out the correct direction to shoot. Following the after-image of the green bolts slicing through the swirling clouds of sand, Lane launched his LRM 20, the twenty missiles vanishing into the storm. Jeremy's Nova Cat's ER PPC sizzled through the path of another guiding medium laser, and Jennifer reported two towers down. She fired two more medium lasers, and one LRM 20 and ER PPC later, the towers were clear.

"Move up! This is our chance," Lane called over the din of the sandstorm, which was starting to abate at last. Visibility was starting to improve as the three 'mechs stomped forward, their pilots eager to get this mission over with so they could escape Gharna Prime. However, Lane was stymied when only a pair of scruffy Commando 'mechs intercepted them to defend the outpost that sat at the edge of a rocky hill. The ruins of the four defense towers were still smoking.

"Wait! Don't shoot, don't shoot!" the pilot of one of the Commandos cried, and Lane hesitated. Could this be a trap to lower his guard until enemy reinforcements arrived? _Let's test them out. _Lane responded, "Why should we hold back? Are you the Armand family, the ones who are a thorn in the side of Merdon One-Eye?"

"You… Merdon sent you?" the other Commando's pilot asked shakily, fear evident in his voice. His 25-ton machine backed up equally nervously.

"We accepted a contract to destroy you in order to collect payment from Merdon," Jeremy added, speeding up the conversation. "That's all. You _are _the Armands, aren't you?"

"We… yes, we're the Armands! But I can't believe that Merdon sent mercenaries after us," the first Commando's pilot wailed. "D-don't kill us, mercenaries, please! We haven't done anything to you. We can't even fight back properly."

"This is either a very convincing ruse, or they are really as helpless as they seem," Jennifer commented. "What will we do, Lane? They can't run away in time."

Lane had not been in the greatest of moods lately and he wanted this mission completed, but something in him kept him from gunning down the cowering Commandos. Instead, he asked, "Why are you out here, Armands? And what kind of trouble have you been giving Merdon to make him send us after you?"

"We… used to be powerful. Years ago," the second Commando pilot explained, sounding a little braver. "See, this transport just arrived one day in the city and a common thug and bounty hunter named Merdon showed up, and he had Mechwarrior friends with him. He killed Jacob Armand, the unofficial head of the city, and drove the rest of us out. That left a power vacuum in the city that Merdon wanted to fill: instead of collecting the bounty on Jacob's head, he became the new kingpin of the city, and no one could stop him. He fought Jacob one-on-one in 'mech combat, and Merdon won of course, though his machine was damaged and he lost an eye due to a shot to the cockpit. So, now we have Merdon One-Eye ruling the city with us Armands out here to watch helplessly!"

"And Merdon built the center building to commemorate his victory," Jeremy supplied.

"Oh, yeah. That thing's easy for us to detect," the first Commando's pilot agreed. "Big pretty building in the middle of a slummy city like that! Seen overhead, it's like the eye of a Cyclops staring at you, daring you to make a move. Patterned after Merdon's one eye. He's a disgusting egomaniac!"

"Are there any more of you?" Lane asked, not wanting to go over the details he already knew. "This could be a trap of yours."

"No! No trap. I swear, this is all we're reduced to, other than a beat-up Jenner in the hangar," the first pilot protested. "We barely get by, mercenary. Merdon reduced us to the clothes on our backs and the memories of our former power."

"And how do you anger him?" Lane went on.

"We… steal from Merdon whenever we can. Prey on his supply convoys," the second pilot admitted. "Sometimes we have to use force and kill the occupants to get the stuff. Merdon can't find our base, so we get away with it. But the best we can do is harass him and survive off of it."

"You kill innocent people? And steal supplies that the people in Stare might need?" Lane asked disbelievingly. He could tell that a lot of the people in Stare were barely making ends meet, and losing supply convoys could push some of those people over the edge. "Anything else?"

"We… regret the necessities of this lifestyle. Truly, we're not brutes!" the first pilot assured him. "Mercy on those who lost their lives, but damn, we can't just give up and die! We don't even have a way off-world. Merdon wouldn't let us go anyway. He's afraid of us staging a coup."

"Well…" Lane hesitated again.

"What are you after?" the second pilot asked.

"Our drop ship is damaged, and can't go back into space," Lane told him, seeing a possibility here. "And we have a 'mech whose gyro is broken. We need a replacement but can't get one because the merchants of Dire don't trust us."

"We can help with that," the first pilot jumped in. "We don't have a lot, just supplies to keep ourselves going. But we don't need that Jenner anymore, so its gyro is just sitting around anyway. And we can help repair that drop ship! We've got enough spare parts for that. Barely, but we do. Our mechanics are darn good."

"Trust you? I dunno," Lane tested him, adjusting his Madcat's footing. "You prey on supply convoys, too…"

"Please! We have women and children in our community. And the elderly," the first pilot cried. "There's no true good or evil here on Gharna Prime. There's only you and what you need. Merdon keeps his city alive and fed, but is brutal and selfish too. We have to prey on supply convoys but would never hurt people in the ways Merdon does. We only do this because we have no other choice! We don't like having to be this way. We can help."

"It's your call, Lane," Jennifer told him before he could ask for her opinion.

"Could be a trap, but it means avoiding another attention-drawing fight if we agree to their deal," Jeremy added. "Hmmmmmmmm…"

It was a tempting offer, Lane knew. And he would have to make a decision on the spot. A lot of things hung in the balance here, and one decision would make all the difference.


	14. Chapter 13 Closure by RougeBaron

**Chapter 13: Closure, by RougeBaron**

_**Bhukta Rock Plain, Gharna Prime, **_

_**Lyran Alliance,**_

_**3068**_

The Armand's offer sounded like a drop of water in a desert. If they were telling the truth, then Prodigy Lance 10 and the Immortals would get enough supplies to fix their mechs and the dropship. Kilroy and Cassandra might be able to cannibalize the Armand's Jenner for the other mechs, and Kyle too. Mickey's Jenner would benefit the most out of it. And if they could fix the dropship, Jeremy would be the first one to fly off this forsaken world.

But the situation was not that simple. The Armands sounded like they were in desperation, but it could be their ploy to lure Prodigy Lance 10 and the Immortals to get into their trap. Maybe they were after the Mad Cat, Uziel, and Nova Cat. Maybe they worked for the Clans. Or maybe they worked for Merdon, and this mission was just Merdon's strategy to get the Mad Cat and Uziel. He fervently showed his interest in those Battlemechs when they met him the other day.

However, the possibility to leave this planet soon outweighed the possibility of a trap, and Jeremy decided to proceed - cautiously - with the first plan. He called his tech, "Kilroy, the Armands are offering us a Jenner for parts, supplies, and to help to fix the dropship. Do you think we can use those?"

"Man, you should see this kid working," Kilroy replied in unexpected glee, seemingly ignoring Jeremy's question. "Remember when Cassandra took out Mr. Roboto's microprocessor? She reprogrammed it, and man does it work like magic!"

"What? When did that happen?" Jeremy was completely baffled. "You let her play with Mr. Roboto's microprocessor? Are you even listening to me?"

"No, Jeremy, listen to _me_," Kilroy snapped back. "Mr. Roboto had never been more than my assistant. He did what I told him to do. Now he's a completely different person... robot... thing, whatever. He fixed most of the Apocalypse barring the gyro, and magically rewired the damaged dropship..."

"So the dropship's running, then," Jeremy interjected.

"No. We still need some parts, but not as much as I thought. Mr. Roboto, Cassandra, and Kyle found a way to bypass some damaged parts on the dropship, but they're still missing the vital parts to make the dropship go to orbit. By the way they work, I think we can use the Armand's offer."

"Do you know what they need?"

"I've never worked on a dropship before," Kilroy said with a hint of humility, "but I can ask Cassandra."

"All right, you do that," Jeremy replied with newfound excitement. "Then take the armored car to meet me. I'll send my position to Mickey. He'll escort you." Then he switched to Lane's frequency. "Lane, my tech thinks we can make use of the Armand's offer. Kilroy and Mickey are on their way here to pick up some parts."

"Are you sure? We still don't know if this is a trap," Lane raised his concern.

"True, but Kilroy said Cassandra and Mr. Roboto managed to fix the dropship to a certain degree. They only need a few parts. If they can use the parts to make the dropship fly, we can leave this planet as soon as possible. I'd rather get the dropship parts now than waiting for Merdon's."

"But we don't know if the Armands have the parts or not," Jennifer joined in. "They may say they have parts so we don't attack them. Or worse, they said it to trap us."

"Listen, we can blast them, right?" Jeremy said carefully. "I know what I am capable of, and I know what you are capable of. If they're trying something bad, we can overwhelm them. Those two Commandos shouldn't be a problem for us. If there are more mechs inside the base, we'll just destroy them. Then we go for salvage and hope that Cassandra and Mr. Roboto can make it work."

There was a long pause. Jeremy could only guess that Lane and Jennifer discussed this matter between themselves. After a while, Lane replied, "All right, we wait for Mickey and Kilroy. One more mech would help us. Why didn't you bring Rita? She would have brought even more firepower with her Bushwacker."

Jeremy let out a long sigh before responding, "I don't trust her enough. I just met Rita and Jessie on the jumpship out of Solaris. And then..." he stopped briefly, wondering if it was the right time to bring the double-agent matter up, "we got attacked by the Clans twice."

"Do you suspect any of the crew?" Jennifer cautiously mused.

"I don't know. But in a situation like this, I'd rather have somebody I can trust to back me up. I've known Mickey for a long time, and he has been a very loyal friend to me."

"That's understandable," Lane said. "Theodore is a very cunning warrior and he has a lot of double agents working for him. We can't trust anybody in this situation."

"But what about the Armands?" Jennifer tuned in. "They offered help, too, don't they?"

"Kilroy said we only needed parts," Jeremy replied. "We'll take their parts but refuse their help. Don't let them know the position of our dropship."

"Sounds like a good plan," Lane summarized. "All right, I'll inform the Armands."

The Armands turned out to be respectable. When Kilroy and Mickey came, they loaded up the armored car with supplies and needed parts. Their technicians were anxious to help the off-worlders but Lane and Jeremy declined their offer. They didn't want their dropship location compromised.

Back at the dropship, Cassandra and Mr. Roboto quickly used the parts to fix the dropship while Kilroy and Kyle worked on the mechs. The extra Jenner proved to be extremely valuable for the job, Kilroy reflected as he stripped the armor and used them to patch the other mechs. Then he dismounted the gyro to replace the damaged part on the Apocalypse.

"Will it work?" Jeremy asked skeptically. "I mean, the Apocalypse is a 70-ton machine, twice as big as a Jenner. It has to handle much a bigger load. I don't know much about Battlemech technology, but the gyro size and the weight difference of those mechs shouldn't be hard to understand."

"Well, if you try to use the entire Jenner gyro in an Apocalypse, it's not gonna work," Kilroy explained. "But here's the thing," he took a brief pause to suppress his excitement. "Your gyro is damaged, not destroyed. Some sections of it are still good. We can tear the Jenner gyro apart and use bits of it to fix the damaged sections of your gyro. Think of it like a Franken-gyro. You take different parts and saw them into a workable gyro. You're not going to get a smooth movement out of it, but at least you can use your Apocalypse again."

"Noble concept, Kilroy," Jeremy nodded. "I really like it... but honestly, can you do it?"

"Me? No," Kilroy smiled bitterly. "But they can." he pointed at Mr. Roboto and Cassandra. "Their priority is the dropship. As soon as they finish, they'll start working on your mech."

"All right, you're the tech," Jeremy gave him a pat in the back, then walked toward the dropship. From the distance he watched the Prodigy lance gathering round near the dropship. Indistinctly he caught Jennifer's voice as she briefed the lance about something. The way she talked brought back a painful memory, so he turned and headed for a quiet place away from the dropship.

Just when he thought he could get some rest, Cassandra appeared.

"Hey there," she chimed like a pest. "You like sitting by yourself, don't you? Tell me what's troubling you, Jeremy."

"Well, let's see," Jeremy laid down. "We're stranded here in a hostile place. Half of my friends are still on Solaris, and I don't know if they're still alive or not. And we're being hunted down by the Clans. Why don't you tell me which one troubles me the most?"

"Ooh, you are bitter too," Cassandra took a seat beside him. "Mr. Roboto and my brother Kyle are fixing your mech. It shouldn't take very long, since a robot doesn't need rest like we do. And don't worry about the dropship, either. It'll run in a couple of hours. We'll get out of here soon." She waited a moment, gauging Jeremy's reaction. "But I think none of those things upset you. When a man grieves the way you do, it's usually about a girl."

"Well it's not," Jeremy huffed curtly. "I'm tired, and I need some rest."

"Mr. Kilroy showed me the photo," Cassandra persisted, not giving up. "I know you were engaged once. I can tell you missed her very much. What happened? Care to tell a friend? You know, sometimes talking to a friend can ease your pain. Who knows? I can help you find a solution."

Jeremy looked at her, not knowing what he should do. Here he was in a foreign world with a girl who kept reminding him about his ex fiancee, and now this 12-year-old genius started poking him about it. Jeremy had heard a lot about Cassandra's hobby, and he wasn't in the mood of talking about his past. But there's something about her innocent persistence that made him unable to refuse her plea. After all, she was only 12.

"This is adult business. You'll get bored in a second," Jeremy scoffed. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, of course!" Cassandra's enthusiasm caught him off guard, calling his bluff. "I'm more than happy to help a friend."

"Jeez, fine," Jeremy sighed and took a comfortable sitting position, for he knew it would be a long conversation. "I was only 16 when I met her. I saw and dated a lot of women before, but nobody was as fine as her. Her hair, her body, her scent, her gait, everything was perfection. And her eyes... oh, those blue eyes," he buried his face in his hands. "I'd destroy the whole world for those eyes.

"Now, she was 26 when we met. I didn't know she had a boyfriend, so I made my move. I used every resource I had to convince her that I was the man for her. She didn't budge; in fact, she was the first woman ever to refuse me. Me, Jeremy Stewart, the heir of the most powerful family in New St. Andrews! It took her four whole years to finally accept my proposal. It was the happiest moment of my life, until her boyfriend came before the wedding. She called everything off and ran away with him.

"At first I thought she was just a conniving girl that took advantage of me. Then I realized that her boyfriend was an accomplished Mechwarrior. He had been in many wars from Tukayyid to the Refusal War. He was also a champion of Solaris. She must have been blinded by his achievements. You know what people say: chicks dig scars. Well, figuratively speaking, scars mean war commemorative items, trophies, medals, that kind of stuffs. That was why I went to Solaris. I wanted to win Solaris championships so I could show her who that I could do what he could do, maybe better. He was a good strategist, so I thought I would learn that skill on Solaris. One day, I will go home and show her that I am a better person than him. Maybe challenge him in a duel and kill him. Or so I thought."

"Uhm, that was..." Cassandra cocked her eyebrows. "That's a... uhm, a misconception of women."

"Oh ho ho, hold on, little girl," Jeremy chuckled. "You think you can judge people better than I do?"

"Maybe not," Cassandra calmed down. "But I can tell what kind of person you are from your story. First, you blame your break up on your fiancee's boyfriend. You never cared about what she thought, why she made the decision to be with you despite having a boyfriend, why she made the decision to leave you. You never gave her a chance! Second, you thought of your fiancee as a tramp. If you really in love with her, you wouldn't even think of her that way."

"Huh?" Jeremy never expected to hear that, especially from a 12 year old girl. It was the first time somebody had had the nerve to question his love for Evee Ridinghood, the only woman that made his world go round. If Cassandra were a man, Jeremy would've hit him in the face. "Look, I treated her like a princess! I gave her everything she needed! But you know what? Say what you like. You're too young to understand any of this anyway."

"Did you ever know what she really needed?" Cassandra spoke gently with knowing eyes. "You didn't, did you? You gave her everything you thought she needed, then expected her to love you in return. She was 10 years older than you. She had different needs, tastes, and maturity from any other woman you've dated. You couldn't treat her the way you treated your other girlfriends."

Jeremy felt like he was struck by lightning. It was hard to believe that Evee didn't want everything he gave her. What about the pretty flowers? The clothes? Shoes? That ridiculously expensive ring? Undivided attention? Unconditioned love? What about his financial and military aid when her family was in a war? And what about their passionate lovemaking? If he recalled, Evee wasn't shy expressing her passion vocally.

"Then what did she need?" Jeremy moaned in frustration. "What did she really want?"

"I can't answer that question, Jeremy," Cassandra replied very cautiously. "You have to search for it yourself. But this time, try to see it from her perspective. Maybe you can find the answer, then have some closure."

Closure. Closure meant letting go and moving on. Closure meant surrender. That was not what Jeremy wanted! He wanted Evee back, not a closure. Then again, Cassandra brought up a very good point. He knew all along that Evee didn't share the same perspectives with him. He just didn't want to accept it.

"Jeremy," suddenly his comlink crackled. "Jeremy, where are you?"

"Kilroy? What's going on?" Jeremy quickly responded. At the same time Cassandra's comlink rang, and Lane's voice burst from the speaker. It didn't sound good.

"We have bogeys coming in from the south. We can't pick up their signature yet, but they sure look hostile."

"Damn it! How is that possible?" Jeremy spat, fear and apprehension rising in his gut. "How's the Apocalypse?"

"It'll run. It won't be pretty but it'll run. Get here quick!"

_This is getting out of hand,_ Jeremy thought. This is the second time somebody knew the location of the dropship. Now he had no doubt that there was a leak among them. If they didn't find the source of the leak, they would all die. But for now, he had to forget about the leak. The incoming party, whoever they were, had to be dealt with first.

"Stay in the dropship!" Jeremy barked at Cassandra before breaking into a sprint.


	15. Chapter 14 Backstabbers by Ulquiorra9000

Chapter 14: Backstabbers, by Ulquiorra9000

Bhukta Rock Plain, Gharna Prime,

Lyran Alliance,

3068

Jeremy wasted little time; he scrambled into the cockpit of the Apocalypse without any delay, fear and tension making him move faster than he thought possible. His hands flew across the dashboard of the Apocalypse at as he powered it up, slipping on the neuro-helmet afterwards. The canopy glass lowered into place with a hiss, and Jeremy rammed his foot onto the pedal to get the 70-ton man-walker moving. The Apocalypse creaked and swayed as it tried to adjust to the new gyro. Lane and Jennifer had powered up their mounts as well, and the Apocalypse, Madcat, and Uziel grouped together into the same formation they had used while searching for the Armands: Lane in the middle, Jeremy on his left, Jennifer on his right.

"So, you got the message too?" Jeremy asked, and asking the question out loud relaxed his nerves if only a little.

"Yeah. Whatever's going on, we've got to hurry and get over there," Lane said in a rush. His Madcat started forward, its three-toed feet creating impressions on the sandy, rocky ground. "Come on!"

It didn't take the trio very long to see what the problem was; the dropship entered detection range, along with Kyle's, Makoto's, and Mickey's 'mechs near it. Plus, over fifteen hostile contacts were closing in fast; they were near the edge of Jeremy's radar, but he knew that they'd have a fight on their hands within minutes. He tensed his fingers on the trigger buttons, making sure to not fire by accident.

"Makoto! Kyle! Report!" Lane barked on the comm.

"Someone gave us away! We should have been more difficult to find than this," Makoto growled back, furious at the situation. "No one's fired yet, but this is going to be nasty, Lance Leader. Whoever that traitor is, they led our enemies right to us. All of them."

"Theodore and Shuran? They're back?" Lane asked, his gut sinking.

"Them, and an old one-eyed friend of ours," Makoto gritted. "And he's got a 'mech to match. Bastard."

Lane and Jeremy picked up a Cyclops 'mech leading the hostile group, the 90-tonner bristling with weapons of all sorts. As they got closer, the Cyclops hailed them.

"So! You're fugitives running from the Blake occupation of Solaris VII, are ya? Heh?" the familiar wheezy voice of Merdon One-Eye gloated over the comm. "And yer on the run from two Khans? And you came running to me to set yourselves back up before striking a Blake staging world? How I love to get caught up in great events! Whee-ha-ha!"

"Shut up, dirtbag!" Lane roared. "Why turn on us?"

"Why not?" Merdon laughed. "Think about it! You guys are wanted, like outlaws! My grudge with those little Armands seems like nothing compared to all this. The Khans and Blakists are offering quite the reward if I pledged to help find you all. I've been tracking you since the start, see. It helps to have a Comstar guy in the Blakists' pocket helping, though."

"You have a Comstar official with you?" Lane asked in confusion, not expecting Merdon to care about such things.

"Wait. I think I know who it is," Jennifer said grimly. "Kilroy! Where's Jessie?"

Kilroy's voice crackled back. "I dunno, Jenny," he confessed. "I turned my back and he was gone... took the Nova Cat and all! I thought he was going to find you guys to relay information too important to risk having intercepted by comm."

"But that's dumb," Jeremy argued. "Kilroy, when exactly did he leave? Be quick; battle brewing, you know..."

"Like... 45 minutes ago?" Kilroy suggested. "At the rate the invasion group is going, they would have left Stare around that time. Wait..."

"Then Jessie..." Lane started.

"Hey, guys. Too bad," Jessie's voice mocked on the comm, coming from his Nova Cat, which was linked to Merdon's comm channel.

"Jessie! You Comstar piece of sh -" Jeremy raged before Jennifer cut him off. "Are you in Theodore's pay?" she asked, her voice oddly calm, though Lane could hear the anger beneath.

"Ha! Lorins are always sharp," Jessie retorted. "Indeed. I won't bore you with the details and all, but I waited for a good chance to set you guys up for your deaths."

"B-but... you would have died when the Steel Viper ship and Theodore's fighter attacked the Keen Edge!" Lane pointed out.

"No. Your lives were spared on purpose," Jessie corrected him. "To make fair sport of you! Shuran wanted a quick kill, but Theodore convinced him otherwise."

"Bastards," Jeremy hissed, his jaw working and his heart thumping hard in anger. His fingers felt cold and stiff. "Is this a big game to you? Watch us run around until you get bored and kill us?"

"And see you drag a local crime boss into it too? Totally worth the show," Jessie glowed. "I'm your traitor. Just getting that out of the way. Though it'll be fun watching Merdon roast you too. You were so desperate to accept his help, and now look! You're not worth his contempt. Oh, and earlier, when Shuran had his gun to my cockpit? That was just a trick, to make you think I was against the Clanners because they had a gun to my face. Shuran never would have pulled the trigger."

"Ah-ha ha ha! So can we get this over with?" Merdon asked with raucous laughter. "I didn't work with you guys just to hear your speeches! Ha ha!"

"Indeed, let us finish this," Theodore's cold voice added smoothly. "I have waited long enough. They will not run again."

"They have nowhere to run! Nowhere!" Shuran growled his agreement.

Crap. We've got backstabbers all over the place, Jeremy thought, his earlier rage subsiding and being replaced by cold shock. We've been in a few tight spots before, but this? Both Theodore and Shuran are back, plus some of their Clan buddies and Merdon and his crew. We don't even have Jessie fighting for us anymore! Let me see... me in this the Apocalypse, Lane's Madcat, Jennifer,'s Uziel, Kyle's Shadowcat, Makoto's Cougar, Rita's Bushwhacker, and Mickey's Jenner. Yup. This will be tricky.

"Lance 10, form up!" Lane ordered. "Jeremy, I imagine you'll want to form up with the rest of the Immortals."

"Just what I was thinking. I think we've got some LRM's to think about," Jeremy added, and Lane saw his point. Merdon's Cyclops had fired its LRM 10, along with Shuran's LRM 15 from his Thor. Prodigy Lance 10 and the Immortals were forced to dodge the long-range barrage as they formed up, and then large lasers and small-caliber Autocannons started to fly. Theodore and Shuran must have gotten replacement 'mechs on their dropship, and Theodore's probably had his custom weapons configuration set up, Lane surmised.

Lane evaded a PPC from one of Merdon's cronies, firing an LRM 20 back in response. Dodging enemy fire, Makoto and Kyle raced across the sand to rejoin their Lance Leader as enemy fire sprayed the ground beneath their 'mechs' giant metal feet. The battle was a pitched one, however, and Lane drew his lance back as Jeremy closed in with Rita and Mickey. A Lance of Merdon's men advanced on the Immortals, with a Star of Steel Vipers pressing close to Lance 10, led by Shuran himself.

"I have had enough of this game," Shuran growled on the comm. "Have you?"

"Just about!" Lane retorted, then launched an LRM 20 at Shuran's direction. The Steel Viper Khan dodged, his Thor moving at exactly the right time to evade. Jennifer and Kyle fired their medium lasers at the distracted Thor, but their ploy was for naught; Shuran was able to dodge their attacks too, and he skirted to the side. His red and black Thor fired its LB-10X, and Jennifer's Uziel and Kyle's Shadowcat were too slow to avoid the shots; they both took damage to the torso.

"Watch out!" Makoto warned as the other four Steel Vipers moved closer; a Storm Crow, an Arctic Wolf, a Rifleman IIC, and a Mad Cat Mk II. On top of that, Theodore's Stiletto raced over to us, the small silver 'mech imposing despite its petite stature.

"You did not forget about me, now did you?" Theodore asked on the comm. "I will not rest until you are dead, Lane Farlow."

"Get... away!" Lane roared, his ER PPC forcing the Stiletto to dodge and stall its attack. However, the Steel Viper 'mechs were giving Lance 10 trouble, and Shuran in particular was a problem.

Makoto's Autocannon 5 was sent the Thor's way, and in response the 70-tonner took to te skies, avoiding the ballistics. Kyle aimed with his Gauss Rifle and prepared to take his shot, only to be caught off-guard by the Hellbringer. He fired the Gauss Rifle at the Hellbringer instead, making it stagger.

The Thor had free reign, descending rapidly in the air after it had gotten aloft. Jennifer's medium lasers were too fast to dodge, and they melted off a little of the Thor's chest armor. However, her SRM 6 was slower, and Shuran fired up his jets for a second to allow the missiles to go under him. Then, he scooted forward and landed on the Uziel in an aerial pounce, sending it crumpling under the Thor's feet.

"Jennifer!" Lane shouted in concern, seeing his Lancemate flattened by Shuran's tactics. "Hang on!"

"Look at me," Theodore responded sharply. His Ultra Autocannon 10 ripped into Lane's haunch, knocking over his Madcat and shredding away most of his left torso's armor. Meanwhile, Shuran aimed his PPC at Jennifer's cockpit, but he Uziel squirmed and strained just enough to get out of the way, allowing the blue bolt to hit the ground instead. Makoto's SRM 4 threw the Thor off balance until it turned, Shuran's impeccable aim scoring a direct hit with his LB-10X despite Makoto's effort to dodge. His Cougar was sent sprawling, the other Steel Viper 'mechs moving forward to finish him.

Damn it. They're too strong! Lane raged, struggling back to his feet. Shuran's the #1 Bloodline Eight, and Theodore's a close second. How did we beat them last time? I've still got damage from that last scuffle, and they brought friends too.

"Lane! We're getting a little overwhelmed here!" Mickey shouted in alarm from the other battle. "Think you can help?"

"No, we can't help! We've got two Khans over here," Lane shouted back tensely. He had to evade Theodore's missiles and lasers as he talked.

"Dang. Well, I had to try..." Mickey joked in spite of the situation. "But I..."

"Cut radio chatter!" Jeremy's voice barked, and Mickey hushed up.

Theodore did not let up, and his second Ultra Autocannon 10 kept Lane from helping Jennifer, who was in dire peril under Shuran's feet. Makoto and Kyle took a few lasers and ballistic rounds from the Steel Viper 'mechs just to line up shots on Shuran, and the Khan was not about to get sloppy. The Thor stepped on the Uziel again, treating it like a rug as it avoided Kyle's lasers and Makoto's Autocannon 5, then lowered its gun barrel to shoot off the Uziel's left arm, destroying the ER PPC there. Then, Shuran jumped off the Uziel, the jump jets roasting the 'mech's back as it got into the sky, its LB-10X roaring to life. Makoto and Kyle evaded the shotgun-like rounds, but Shuran's aim was sharp, and they couldn't dodge his shots forever.

Lane, meanwhile, allowed Theodore's third UAC 10 to graze his torso, baring his teeth as the attack brushed by. He took his chance and distracted Theodore with his lasers, which were dodged. Then, his ER PPC struck the Stiletto, knocking it over and roasting its right torso armor.

"There!" Lane breathed to himself, advancing on the Stiletto to finish it off. He took aim with his gun barrels and almost depressed the triggers when the Stiletto sprung back to its feet, much faster than Lane expected it to. It juked to the left, Lane's desperate lasers and PPC missing and making is heat level too high to allow further shooting. Taking advantage of this, Theodore ran forward in his Stiletto and activated the jump jets, rocketing toward the Madcat at frightening speed. As it moved, the Stiletto hid an Ultra Autocannon 10 burst in the fury of its charge, and the heavy ballistic rounds shredded the Madcat's center torso right before the Stiletto itself rammed into the heavier 'mech.

The Madcat was flattened, the Stiletto standing over its wounded prey like a vulture. Its torso-mounted UAC 10 took aim, prepared to blast Lane's body into pieces in his cockpit.

"I commend your fighting spirit, but your luck has run out," Theodore told his adversary coldly. "Farewell – what is this?"

Theodore was forced to abort his shot as an ER PPC raced toward his back, coming from the sky. His Stiletto got off Lane's Madcat and dashed away, eying the silver Hellbringer that had just landed on its jump jets. An equally shiny Stiletto took its side, along with a Centurion and a Jenner. As Lane got up, he saw the dropship that had deposited the new Lance, its presence making everyone stop to watch.

The Hellbringer's pilot radioed in to Lane. "Hiya! Looks like I got here just in time. Or maybe I'm fashionably late? I can't tell..."

"Stop joking, Lance Leader. We've got a job to do!" the Stiletto's pilot admonished the Hellbringer pilot, the girl's voice stirring Lane's memory. Are they... they must be!

"Spark! Kaia! Is it you?" Lane asked, his Madcat getting up at last.

"Yeah! I haven't seen you since Dire, man," Spark Muthos answered back enthusiastically. "Remember? When we pulled Ras' butt out of the fire?"

"No, he pulled us out of the fire when he got his Tigers on the scene," Lane corrected him. "But William and S-34 went down either way."

"Good times," Spark reminisced. "Anyway! Richard, Marissa, go help those other guys. Kaia and I will cover for Prodigy Lance 10."

"Understood," the Jenner and Centurion pilots agreed before going over to help the Immortals, signaling for the firefight to resume.

"So let's kick some Clanner butt today, huh?" Spark suggested with a laugh, the Lance Leader of Prodigy Lance 6 enjoying himself. "I caught your SOS from the Keen Edge, and it's lucky that my own ship was in the area. Took this long to reach you, but here we are."

Lane grinned in his cockpit as Theodore began his attack anew. Jeremy and I will sort out the deal with Jessie and Merdon after all this. "Time to get to work."


	16. Chapter 15 Payback by RougeBaron

**Chapter 15: Payback, by RougeBaron**

_**Bhukta Rock Plain, Gharna Prime,**_

_**Lyran Alliance,**_

_**3068**_

The heat in Jeremy's cockpit almost made his sweat boil. The emergency gyro held its own to keep the Apocalypse standing, but the recoil from the Ultra Autocannon 10 and the SRM 4's made the 'mech unstable. It was frustrating when he had somebody lined up in his crosshairs, but it felt almost painful when his ballistic rounds missed the target because his torso twisted and further threw off his aim. His laser was the only useful weapon in his arsenal because firing it didn't produce recoil.

Gasping for air, Jeremy fired his laser, risking shutdown and passing out from the heat. The emerald bolt hammered the enemy _Quickdraw,_ igniting a major fire on its right torso. As the heavy 'mech reeled, Jeremy dumped the last bit of his coolant, bringing the heat to a manageable levels. He put his crosshair on the _Quickdraw_'s chest, but hesitated. His gyro couldn't take the recoil from firing his UAC 10, and he would only be wasting his ammo anyway.

"Rita, Mickey! Smoke that _Quickdraw_!" Jeremy barked.

"Get behind me!" Rita responded as her _Bushwacker _passed him from the right. As the _Quickdraw _regained its balance, Rita's LB-10X bellowed, sending sub-munitions to the _Quickdraw_'s left shoulder. The 60-ton 'mech staggered as its knee buckled, overwhelmed by by the unexpected impact from the LB-X rounds. To finish the job, Rita opened fire with the rest of her weapons. Her large laser stabbed the _Quickdraw _on its mangled left shoulder, followed by a quartet of SRM's to the same spot. Bits of armor sprayed all over the place as the _Quickdraw _tumbled backwards and exploded.

"Got that one!" Rita shouted in delight as her weapons recycled. "Come on, I need more than th..."

Rita's exclamation was cut short by a vicious explosion that ripped through the front half of her _Bushwacker_. A single Gauss slug decked Rita's 'mech right under the cockpit, and chunks of 'mech parts slammed into Jeremy's torso. What was left of the _Bushwacker _thrashed uncontrollably before tumbling backwards.

Jeremy quickly traced the source of the Gauss shell but was disheartened upon seeing the _Cyclops _at his right flank. It was Merdon One-Eye's. Even if his _Apocalypse _was in good shape, Jeremy would find it tough to overcome the 20-ton deficit against the _Cyclops. _However, Jeremy knew that he had no choice but to fight back. He raised his Ultra Autocannon 10 arm and let loose. The gyro groaned in protest as the heavy weapon fired, and half of the ballistic rounds missed the target entirely, and the others that did strike the target scattered too far apart to cause concentrated damage on the _Cyclops_' tough armor.

Shaking off the damage, the _Cyclops _trudged forward on its thick legs, raising its right arm and pointing it right at Jeremy's cockpit.

Just as Jeremy thought he was doomed, three missiles whooshed through the air and exploded on the _Cyclops_' chest. The impact wasn't strong enough to blast all the way through the assault 'mech's torso, but it did provide a life-saving distraction. A stream of Autocannon rounds whistled through the air a few seconds later, and then a half dozen laser bolts tore through the myomer on the _Cyclops_' right leg, making the whole limb catch fire.

Jeremy peered left to see the _Jenner _and _Centurion _from Spark's group boldly charge towards the much larger _Cyclops, _drawing the _Cyclops_' fire away from him. The _Cyclops _was larger than either of the 'mechs that were charging at it, but the pilots of the _Jenner _and _Centurion _were clearly more skilled than Merdon was. The huge _Cyclops _fired every weapon it had at the two smaller 'mechs, but the lighter 'mechs used their jump jets to avoid getting hit, and they peppered the _Cyclops _with their own weapons in return. It wasn't long before the _Cyclops_' armor was melted into glowing mush that dripped to the ground like molten lava.

Daunted, the _Cyclops _turned and ran from the battle as fast as its damaged legs would allow.

"Coward!" the comlink came to life with energetic shouts. "Lance Commander, the _Cyclops _is retreating. Permission to pursue."

"Negative," Jeremy responded. "Form up and regroup with Prodigy Lance 10. We'll take care of them later."

As the _Centurion _and _Jenner _regrouped with the _Hellbringer_, Jeremy leaned back in his piloting chair and took several deep breaths, realizing how close he had come to getting pummeled to death by the _Cyclops_. He couldn't help but wonder if things would have been different with Amber at his side. She was a great Mechwarrior, even more skilled than he was. It probably wouldn't even make a difference, however, because by now she had probably already died on Solaris VII.

When the last of the _Apocalypse_'s heat dissipated, Jeremy looked over at the charred remnants of the _Bushwacker_. His stomach clenched in guilt, realizing that he had been responsible for Rita's life, and he had failed because of Jessie's betrayal. Jessie had known about the Clans and Prodigy Lance 10 and Hellgar II. That sort of information was not available to the general public, and as a Comstar intelligence agent, Jessie should have followed that protocol. Besides, no Comstar agent would use a _Nova Cat_.

"Poor Rita..." Mickey said sadly as he formed up on Jeremy's left. "She shouldn't have died like that."

"It's all my fault," Jeremy sighed heavily. "I should have seen it from the first moment we met. How's your 'mech holding up?"

"Other than some armor damage, it's still running," Mickey replied. "I kept moving. The _Cyclops _was too slow to catch me."

"Good boy," Jeremy smirked. "Listen, Mickey, you've had enough. Stay with Kilroy and Hyolee at the dropship. I'll go kill Jessie, but I don't want you to come with me."

"Wh-what? That's crazy!" Mickey objected hotly on the comlink. "Merdon's probably still got some troops left, maybe even dozens of them, in his city! You can't beat them all, even with your 'mech fully intact!"

"I can't just walk away, you know!" Jeremy shouted back. "It's because of me that Rita died! I am the Lance Commander of the Solaris Immortals, and my ignorance got my Lancemate killed! I should have been the one to die, not Rita!"

"Mickey _is _right, Jeremy," Lane's Farlow voice cut in. "Merdon One-Eye still has a Battlemech force in Stare. Plus, Spark's planetary recon showed that the Clans positioned a force around the whole city's perimeter. Merdon's been working with them for some time now. You'll only get yourself killed if you went there alone."

"Are you telling me that I should live the rest of my life with Rita's blood on my hands?" Jeremy hissed.

"No, of course not. I'm saying that you need more than your _Apocalypse _to kill Jessie," Lane insisted. "Spark, Kaia and I will will lead our teams to assault Stare. Most likely, Merdon's men and the Clanners will both fight back. While they're focusing on us, slip in and take out Jessie. Remember, though, that he is still using that _Nova Cat. _It would be best for you to bring Mickey as your backup."

"I already lost one Lancemate," Jeremy said miserably. "I don't want to lose another."

"Come on, Jeremy. We're in this together," Mickey cajoled him. "I don't want to lose you, either."

It was a tough decision to make, but Jeremy really had no choice but to bring Mickey along as his backup. Not counting piloting skills, the _Nova Cat _was superior to the _Apocalypse _in every way, making it suicide to go after Jessie – even when he was alone – in a beat-up 'mech.

"All right, Mickey," Jeremy said at length. "We're both going. Just stay close to me and do what I say."


	17. Chapter 16 Do or Die by Ulquiorra9000

**Chapter 16: Do or Die, by Ulquiorra9000**

_**Bhukta Rock Plain, Gharna Prime,**_

_**Lyran Alliance,**_

_**3068**_

Jeremy hardly even noticed the flat emptiness of the Bhukta Rock Plain or the time it took to travel across the desert in order to reach Stare. He didn't pay any mind to the constant up-down lurches he felt in the cockpit as the _Apocalypse_'s legs stomped forward at top speed, or take note of the way the 'mech wobbled a little bit from the damage it had taken in the earlier battle. The Khans Shuran Thomela and Theodore Romenicus would be waiting at Stare to back up Merdon One-Eye's defense force, but neither they nor the one-eyed crime lord interested Jeremy at the moment.

Only the sneering face of Jessie the Comstar agent in Jeremy's mind interested him at the moment, and his gut clenched in anger and loathing when he thought about that man. Neither he nor Lane Farlow had seen this coming, or anyone else from the Solaris Immortals or Prodigy Lance 10. Already, Jeremy had suffered the feeling of betrayal and abandonment when his former girlfriend Evee Ridinghood had left him for a Clanner named Parker Kerensky. After that event, Jeremy had been reduced to arena fighting on Solaris VII, entering a heated rivalry with the local big-shot Mac Storm, and then the Word of Blake had invaded Solaris and driven Jeremy and some of his friends off-world. And now, one of his few precious allies turned out to be a cold-hearted traitor who sold him out to the Clans and a petty crime lord?

Unforgivable.

It was do or die, and Jeremy knew that unless Merdon and Jessie were taken down, they wouldn't ever be leaving Gharna Prime, with its deserts and local crime syndicates like Merdon's. While the rest of the team would take on Merdon's main force, Jeremy would settle his score with Jessie. It was the least he could do to repair the situation and give himself at least a little control over the direction his life had taken recently. _Jessie, only you or I a__re coming out of this alive. Don't expect me to give any quarter, even if you beg!_

"Hey, you're drifting," Mickey's voice cut into Jeremy's thoughts, snapping his mind back to what was going on. Rocks and hardy shrubs slid by underfoot as the _Apocalyp__se _tromped across the rock plain, and Mickey's Jenner trotted over to Jeremy's 'mech. "Stare's right up ahead if you keep straight. Feeling all right? Or is it the gyro?"

Jeremy shook his head. "The gyro's holding. Don't worry about it, we'll get to Stare without any problems. Once we get there, though, the fireworks start. Don't let your guard down."

"I hear that," Mickey agreed. In the distance, Jeremy saw the dust kicked up by the main attack force also headed for Stare, made up of Prodigy Lance 10, Spark and Kaia, and the two other Mechwarriors that Spark had brought, Richard and Marissa. Jeremy had been told that Richard and Marissa weren't actual members of his Prodigy Lance 6, because the two original members had been killed in Spark's very first mission a while back. These two were stand-ins from the Steiner Mechwarrior ranks, but they could get the job done. _I'm not the only one who's suffered, _Jeremy mused. _I can't let it distract me, but damn..._

The main attack force was almost at the gates of Stare, which were raised and sealed closed, barring any intruder from getting into the fortified city. Jeremy wondered how exactly the invasion force would enter the city's interior, until a pair of LRM 20 volleys from Lane's _Mad Cat_ blasted the base of the gates, weakening their structural integrity with a loud boom, and then several metallic creaks. The _Mad Cat_ charged at the damaged gates at top speed, then turned completely around on its torso to ram into the gates with its back, in order to keep the front armor intact. The ploy worked, and the gates succumbed to the Madcat's momentum, and fell forward onto the street like the drawbridge of a castle opening the wrong way.

"Needless to say, we're in," Lane told Jeremy in the comm, a note of wry humor in his voice. "My force will draw out Merdon's main defenses, so you and Mickey should hurry inside and take the side street near the city wall to minimize your profile. We'll minimize civilian damages as much as possible, of course. No one else needs to suffer because of this whole tangle."

"I got it," Jeremy nodded, and steered his _Apocalypse _toward the now-opened city gates, with Mickey right in tow. The main force advanced further down the city, headed right for the circular, silvery building in the city center that was Merdon's base of operations, the building that made up the eye of Stare's Cyclops face. Jeremy wasn't sure how many defensive turrets that Merdon's base had, but he was sure that Lane and Spark's PPC's could handle such threats without too much trouble.

Focusing on his own situation, Jeremy navigated his _Apocalypse _though the streets toward the edge of Stare, in order to reach Merdon's base the covert way. Mickey dutifully followed, but his _Jenner _and Jeremy's _Apocaly__pse _had trouble pushing through the slum and market-crowded streets. Cars, shop vendors, and pedestrians had to scramble out of the way in order to avoid the heavy footfalls of the two 'mechs, emphasizing the symbolic military power that these machines had. Jeremy hoped for a quick end to this conflict, but knew better than to count on it.

In the main road of Stare, the Prodigy main force moved forward with deliberation, hoping to draw Merdon's attention and possibly destroy his forces. The central building of Stare drew nearer, and as Lane had started to suspect, there were a number of turrets built into the structure. As if by cue, the cars and pedestrians of the street began to scatter from the main street as though they expected something. They had good reason – a sudden proximity alert blared in Lane's cockpit, and his stomach jumped in sudden anxiety.

"Watch out!" he shouted on the comm, scrambling out of the way before a pair of LRM 10 volleys whooshed past him, having come from missile emplacements on Merdon's base. The missiles exploded on the street behind Lane's_ Mad Cat_, creating a series of smoking craters. The proximity alert went off again, and Lane had to take shelter behind a building to escape another LRM 10 flight. The LRM's blew up against the building, blasting apart the structure's wall and raining debris onto the street.

"I think… we've got his attention," Lane said grimly, and true to his word, several contacts popped up on his radar. He got back out in the open to regroup with his Lance, leaving Spark to organize his own Lance nearby. From an entrance of the center building came three Lances of 'mechs, an entire Company of them, and they all clearly wanted the Prodigies' blood to run.

"Off-world scum!" one of the Mechwarriors raged on the comm. "You dare to raise your arms against our boss Merdon One-Eye, heh? Insolence!"

"Be still, you," Merdon's familiar voice snapped at the man, and then he rather calmly addressed Lane. "So, boy, it looks like you've gone and made a mess of everything! Or was that me? Ha ha! You're a fool to think you can just storm my castle. I have my entire Company with me, and those two Khans as backup if anything goes wrong. Mess with me, and you'll have the Clans to answer to as well! They make great business partners."

"Save it," Lane growled, aware that the enemy force had come within 900 meters and was approaching fast. He sized up the opposition and battlefield: the enemy had a Lance of medium 'mechs, a Lance of heavies, and a third Lance of two heavy and two assault 'mechs, all in an urban battleground. No doubt some of them were equipped with weaponry that favored an urban environment, but Merdon's _Cyclops _seemed to be equipped with more standard weapons. In the battle in the Bhukta Rock Plain, the _Cyclops _had brought to bear an LRM 10, an SRM 4, two medium lasers, and a Gauss Rifle.

When Lane used his zoom reticule on Merdon's assault 'mech, however, he saw that it was in fact a different _Cyclops_: this one was in perfect condition, and had a mouth painted onto the lower part of the cockpit, with large, blunted teeth and a few longer canines, like the teeth of a giant from folk tales. Or a Cyclops. The mouth decal and the skin-colored paint of the _Cyclops _made it seem as though a mechanized version of the famed Greek monster had come to life.

Merdon must have ordered his men to open fire, because they certainly did: two of the 'mechs on the medium Lances were the _Trebuchet _'mech, and they opened fire with their dual LRM 15's right at the Prodigy group. The other two 'mechs on that Lance were _Bushwackers, _which fired their LRM 5's and large lasers to add to the firepower of the _Trebuchets. _The Prodigies scrambled to evade the incoming enemy fire, and most of the missiles whooshed past harmlessly, although one LRM 15 caught the friendly _Centurion _on the arm and a large laser scraped the shoulder of Jennifer's _Uziel._

"Return fire if you have long-range weapons! The rest of you, prepare for close-quarters combat," Lane ordered, taking charge without even remembering that Spark was in charge of his own Lance. Spark was a very agreeable fellow, however, and he agreed with Lane's strategy and coordinated his Lance to accommodate it. Spark's _Hellbringer _fired up both ER PPC's, sending the thick blue bolts toward Merdon's advancing group as suppressing fire. Meanwhile, the _Centurion _on his Lance launched its LRM 10, and then Jennifer's ER PPC and both of Lane's LRM 20's maxed out the Prodigy return-fire.

Merdon's group reacted naturally, breaking ranks and slipping behind buildings to avoid harm. They weren't quite as sharp as the Prodigies, however, and one of the _Trebuchet _'mechs was hit by one of Spark's PPCs and one of Lane's LRM 20's, blasting away a large chunk of its torso armor and making the 'mech fall flat on its back a second later. Lane's other LRM whooshed past the head of Merdon's _Cyclops, _which was a shame because if that LRM 20 had hit the cockpit, the battle might have ended right then and there. Instead, Merdon was merely angered by the attack, but was forced to watch as Jennifer's PPC hit an _Awesome _on his assault Lance, and Spark's other PPC narrowly missed a _Bushwacker _on the medium Lance. Lastly, he _Centurion_'s LRM 10 had missed, too, but its distraction helped keep Merdon's forces from fighting back.

Lane took quick inventory of what he was up against. Merdon's medium Lance had two _Trebuchets _and two _Bushwackers _as he has surmised earlier. The heavy Lance had three _Dragons _and a _Warhammer_. The assault Lance had an _Awesome_, a _Zeus_, a _Battlemaster_, and Merdon's _Cyclops. _Most of these 'mechs would probably have weapons different from their usual configurations to suit urban battle, and the _Cyclops _almost certainly would have different weapons than had been used in the Bhukta Rock Plain by Merdon's other _Cyclops_. Lane thought it over. _In fact, I bet that Merdon has several _Cyclops _'mechs, each for a different situation. This is bound to be the one for urban combat._

By now, Merdon's assault Lance was within 400 meters of the Prodigy Lances, and his heavy Lance was approaching stealthily by taking alternate routes to the enemy in order to flank them. Being of lesser constitution, the fire-support medium 'mechs stayed beyond 400 meters to lay down suppressing fire.

"Off with you!" Merdon roared, and his assault Lance got to work. The mystery of his assault 'mech was put to rest as a pair of LB 20-X's erupted to life on the _Cyclops_' torso, a dreaded weapon in any situation, especially an urban brawl. The shot-gun like rounds scattered everywhere, the metallic shards pinging off the armor of most of the Prodigy 'mechs and dealing considerable damage everywhere. The 'mechs of the Prodigy Lances spread themselves out even farther, knowing that clustering together would maximize the use of Merdon's LB 20-X's.

The _Awesome _lumbered forward and added two PPC's to the battle, and one blue bolt skated against the torso armor of Lane's _Mad Cat_, and the shot threatened to scramble his electronics system. Lane backed up and twisted on his torso to avoid the other PPC, but before he could fire back Merdon's _Cyclops _pushed forward and fired its missile weapons: a pair of torso-mounted SRM 6's. Spark's _Hellbringer _ran up close to help its ally, and the 65-ton 'mech's AMS helped shoot down some of the SRM's, and Lane dodged the rest and allowed them to explode against an apartment complex behind them. He fervently hoped that the inhabitants had taken shelter in the lower levels.

_We've got to take them down fast__. A battle of attrition isn't what we want! _Lane thought frantically, aware that his team was outnumbered and all had taken damage in the last battle, while Merdon's troops were in top condition except for the injured _Trebuchet _further down the road. "Strike back! Take down at least one of them with a combined blow," Lane barked before the rest of Merdon's troops re-entered the battle: the _Warhammer _and the three _Dragons. _The heavy 'mechs flanked the Prodigy Lances, adding their LB 5-X's and missiles to the battle.

Makoto's _Cougar _was a brawler 'mech despite its size, and he and the _Centurion _confronted a pair of the enemy _Dragons. _The enemy 60-tonners were unprepared for Makoto's speed and agility, allowing him to escape the heavy enemy fire and hit back. His two ER medium lasers and Autocannon 5 wounded the torso of one of the _Dragons, _forcing the heavy 'mech back as fire burst from its wound. The _Centurion _blasted the damaged _Dragon _with its LRM 10 and Autocannon 10, knocking it down and sending it to critical levels. The other _Dragon _punished the _Centurion _with its medium lasers and LB 5-X, and the 50-ton 'mech was too slow to avoid the attack. However, Makoto was able to slip between them and push back the _Dragon _with his Autocannon 5 and SRM 4, sparing the _Centurion _from further harm.

Back in the main avenue, Lane backed up as the _Battlemaster _and Merdon's _Cyclops _lumbered forward, firing their PPC's and LB 20-X's to shred the invasion force, backed up by LRM's from the _Trebuchets _and _Bushwackers. _Luckily, the Prodigies were hardened by fighting against Khans, and they avoided the worst of the enemy attack, although the narrow streets ensured that at least a few LB 20-X rounds and LRM's hit their targets. Spark shot back with his ER PPC, and the blue bolt brushed against Merdon's shoulder, singing off some armor from his 90-ton 'mech.

"Ha! Not good enough!" the one-eyed crime boss gloated, until Lane's own ER PPC slammed against the slammed against the _Cyclops_' center torso, since its pilot had been distracted. Before Merdon could recover, Lane fired his LRM 20 and flushed some coolant, and all twenty missiles exploded against the torso of the flushed some coolant, and all twenty missiles exploded against the torso of the _Cyclops_, destroying a large chunk of its left and center torso armor.

However, Merdon had been quick on the upkeep, and he had fired a desperate LB 20-X at the same time as the LRM's. Most of the rounds had impacted against Lane's left torso, and his gyro was overloaded from the force. His _Mad Cat _toppled onto its side, making it vulnerable. At the very least, Merdon had taken heavy damage and was afraid to follow up on the attack, so he left the job to his minions. The _Awesome_, _Battlemaster_, and _Zeus _tromped forward on their master's behalf, and Jennifer, Kaia, and Kyle took up the front lines in their _Uziel_, _Stiletto_, and _Shadow Cat_ while Lane struggled to get back to his feet and rejoin the battle.

Back at the side streets, Jeremy and Mickey hurried toward their destination at top speed, and it wasn't long before they heard the sounds of battle down the main road. The dull thump of missiles and the roar of ballistic weapons soon filled the air, and the people in the side streets scattered in terror, all hurrying to take shelter in their houses in case the battle shifted to their location. Jeremy was now aware that the clock had started ticking, because the final confrontation of this Gharna Prime affair had started, and his business with Jessie was yet to be resolved.

The road seemed to slope upwards, and that was indeed the case: Merdon's round, silver base of operations was built on the high point of Stare, and apparently the city had been built atop a shallow hill in the middle of this flat rock plain. Jeremy urged Mickey to hurry, and the two of them were now in the shadow of the base. However, a contact appeared on Jeremy's radar right before he saw it: a single _Nova Cat _was exiting one of the 'mech exits of the base, and it had its guns trained on Jeremy's _Apocalypse_. Jeremy stopped cold, as did Mickey.

"So here you are!" Jessie's voice called out. "Want revenge, do you? You want to take my head and right all the wrongs committed here?"

"Cut the chatter and get ready to fight!" Jeremy growled back. "I'm not letting you bastard run free for another minute."

"Me neither," Mickey added with strength in his voice, motivated by Jeremy's resolve.

Jessie laughed. "Well! You have a lot of guts, guys. That'll make it more fun when I rip them out!"

At that, the _Nova Cat _started running forward to get in weapons range, and Jeremy and Mickey both prepared for battle.


	18. Chapter 17 Vengeance by RougeBaron

Chapter 17: Vengeance, by RougeBaron

_**Stare, Gharna Prime,  
**_

_**Lyran Alliance,**_

_**3068**_

Jeremy knew that going frontal against the _Nova Cat_ was suicide. His main weapon, the UAC10, was less than 50 percent effective with his current gyro. His lasers could still do some damage but he didn't have enough heat sinks nor coolant to keep the heat manageable. That was not considering armor; Jessie's armor was as clean as a bed sheet on the store.

His only choice was to battle Jessie in close quarter combat. Jessie's PPCs would be ineffective at close range, and Jeremy's own UAC10 had better hit chance. But he had 900 meters to cover, where Jessie could knock him out with a well-placed (or lucky) PPC shot. He could use Mickey as a diversion while he moved forward, but he couldn't do it. It was not the only way to win the fight.

As soon as the distance between him and the _Nova Cat_ fell below 900 meters, Jeremy slammed his foot on the pedal, bringing his _Apocalypse_ into a full sprint. He jerked his joystick hard to the left, just as Jessie fired his PPC from long range. The azure bolt sailed several meters above his head. Jessie's second bolt quickly followed suit, but Jeremy was well covered behind a building. Concrete debris and dust filled the air as the bolt hammered the front face of the building. None of them harmed Jeremy's mech.

The twin PPC attacks told Jeremy that Jessie was not very adept in Battlemech urban combat. If he could force Jessie to waste his PPC a couple more times, he'd nail the _Nova Cat_ by overheating. So he turned to the opposite direction, got a clearance and fired his large laser. It went wide, but Jeremy didn't expect to hit Jessie. He just made Jessie think he missed.

"Mickey, flank him and burn his ass!" Jeremy yelled.

Mickey quickly paced up and took a wide loop, arcing toward Jessie's unguarded rear. Jessie noticed Mickey's move and quickly turned to intercept him, but Jeremy fired a couple rounds of UAC10 to provide cover. The bullets went astray and whipped the building next to the _Nova Cat_, turning the front glass windows into a cloud of splinters. Jeremy grimaced at the result. If he couldn't find a way to cope with his damaged gyro, he'd be in a lot of trouble.

However, Jessie didn't know that condition. As Jeremy expected, he turned back again, now facing Jeremy who he thought was the bigger threat, and fired his PPCs. One bolt blasted the building behind the _Apocalypse_. The other one, unfortunately, hammered Jeremy's left arm dead center.

The sudden loss of mass almost tore Jeremy's gyro. The _Apocalypse_ lurched heavily to the left, almost toppling over, before Jeremy haphazardly yanked his joysticks in every direction. The scream of the overloaded bearings sounded like the mech would break into two. The feedback signal on his neurohelmet made his head throb. Still, the mech slowly got back to its feet, still leaning to the left, but now in a position to counterattack.

Eager to finish the fight early, Jessie doubled up his PPCs with his lasers. All 3 laser cannons from the _Nova Cat_ flashed, burning the last myomer on Jeremy's left leg into charred strands. Jeremy groaned, holding his joystick back, putting every effort to keep standing. But the _Apocalypse_ was about done; he would be lucky if his mech could move at all at this point.

At the critical time, Mickey reached his weapon range and quickly fired his lasers. The quad lasers stabbed the _Nova Cat_ in the back. Molten armor dripped to the ground as the 70-ton Omnimech staggered. Mickey followed up with his missiles, but he rushed his attack. A chance to hurt Jessie was wasted as the missiles went wide and exploded on a building.

Jessie made a tight turn and swiveled his arms to get a clear shot at Mickey, but the tight spot between buildings didn't give him enough room. He arced his right arm as far as he could and shot Mickey at the first opportunity, but Mickey wisely slipped behind a building. Jessie's fire tossed a huge cloud of debris into the air, hampering his vision. And then, his temperature started to creep up into dangerous level.

Jeremy's estimate about Jessie's heat level was not too far off. He reckoned by this time the _Nova Cat_ would start getting slow and unresponsive. It was time to make a move. He dragged his feet while keeping his remaining weapons trained at the _Nova Cat_, trapped and overheated, vainly struggling to get a pot shot at Mickey's _Jenner_.

Mickey brought his _Jenner_ on top of a building and launched his attack, raining down his lasers and missiles at the _Nova Cat_. His weapons were not enough to reach critical parts underneath the thick ferro-fibrous hide, but they sure made Jessie nervous. Frustrated, Jessie shot the building, hoping that Mickey would go down with the concrete. But as the building crumbled, Mickey fired his jets, catapulting his mech far into the air and away from Jessie's murderous weapons.

As a matter of fact, it was unnecessary. Jessie's heat level had rendered him immobilized.

Then it was Jeremy to the attack. He steadied his mech before launching his short-ranged weapons. His lasers skinned the _Nova Cat's_ right torso just under the shoulder. Half of his missiles exploited the weakened armor, pulling off cracks on the engine casing. Jeremy took a good aim at the troubled _Nova Cat_ then blasted his UAC10. Most of the rounds strayed off the target, but a couple of them landed right in the damaged torso. The _Nova Cat_ jerked backward, and if it wasn't because of the building behind it, the mech would've been lying on the pavement.

But Jessie still had a lot of fight left in him. Propped by the building behind him, he jerked his mech forward and fired his right PPC. Jeremy's left torso erupted, and the shockwave broke the windows on adjacent buildings. The _Apocalypse_ buckled under the onslaught, supported only by two trembling legs and Jeremy's will to keep fighting. Lucky for him, the SRM launcher had no missiles left, otherwise the ammo explosion would destroy everything around it.

Before the _Nova Cat_ launched its crushing blow, Mickey took off to the sky and rained down his missiles. The _Nova Cat_, already hampered by the heat, staggered under the assault. Its thin rear armor started to breach. Mickey let loose a four-laser attack to rip the armor further. A couple of bolts tore up the weakened armor and clawed the internal structure. Black smoke twirled from the wound.

Jeremy didn't know if it was pure luck or it was his decision to bring Mickey that kept him alive. The kid showed courage never been seen when they were at Solaris. His timing was precise; he denied Jessie's chance to kill Jeremy by hitting him at the right spot at the right time.

So, Jeremy hauled his mangled mech and continued forward. He knew he was putting himself in a grave danger by limping on the open field. But it was his only chance. As Jessie struggled to overcome the heat, Jeremy marched on, inching toward the _Nova Cat_ and prayed that Jessie was not a very bright Mechwarrior.

And he wasn't, or he was too panicked to think. Somehow Jessie couldn't decide which one was the greatest danger to him: Mickey who kept taking pot shots at his rear, or Jeremy who had the bigger gun. He kept shifting target between the _Jenner_ and the _Apocalypse_, and when he decided he would hit Mickey, the _Jenner_ had been halfway behind a building. Jessie's attack failed to connect, and the only effect the lasers created was to flood the _Nova Cat_ with waste heat.

Jeremy smiled as he leveled his UAC10 up to Jessie's torso. At 190 meters apart, he mashed the alpha strike button. The deafening sound of the giant Gatling gun felt like music to him. The _Apocalypse_ shook violently to sustain the recoil, but half of the shells cored Jessie's armor. The secondary armaments added the destruction; the _Nova Cat_ keeled over and tumbled onto its back.

As Jeremy dragged his feet for the final blow, his comlink flickered. It was not Mickey's nor any of the Prodigy member's. It must have come from Jessie, and Jeremy laughed at the thought that the coward Jessie was trying to beg for his life. But for pure entertainment, he decided to establish communication and see what Jessie had to say for his final words.

"Look, Jeremy, this is not the way everything should end," Jessie said, exactly like Jeremy expected. "Nobody is supposed to get hurt. The Clans only want the Prodigy Lance. They have nothing to do with you. You don't have to do this."

"_I_ don't have to do this?" Jeremy sneered as he put his crosshair on Jessie's cockpit. "I'm still breathing, but Rita's dead. Tell it to her. Tell her that the Clans don't want her, and that she shouldn't get hurt."

"It was all Medron's fault! Merdon killed her, not me! He's the greedy one and tried to destroy you all because he wanted your mechs. If you let me live, I'll negotiate with the Clans to let you go."

"I've deal with your kind one time too many, Jessie," Jeremy hissed while grazing the trigger with his thumb. "I don't care what the Clans will do to me. This is for Rita. I'll see you in hell." He thumbed the trigger, and his UAC10 belched, spitting the last ammunition. All shells connected to the _Nova Cat_ cockpit, and when the smoke cleared up, the head was no more.

Jeremy closed his eyes, sinking in the feeling that overwhelmed him. Relief, pride, bloodlust, all blended into one big lump that he didn't know which was which anymore. There was still guilt remaining; killing Jessie didn't bring Rita back. But it sure did quench his vengeance. It was the best thing he could do at the moment.

"You OK, Jeremy?" Mickey said as he parked right next to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jeremy answered. "You?"

"I barely get hit. Jessie didn't have good urban skills," Mickey replied with a little pride in his voice.

"No he didn't. Lucky us we chose Stare as our battleground."

"What now?" Mickey mused.

"Wait for the Prodigy Lances," Jeremy drew a long breath. "We got what we came here for. It's up to them now."

Through his radar Jeremy watched the main battleground where the Prodigy Lances battled Merdon and his cronies, backed up by the Clans. The fight was almost a stalemate with the smaller number but more effective Prodigy mechs traded fire with the larger number but less skilled local Mechwarriors. Merdon himself imposed his 15-ton advantage over Lane's _Mad Cat_ and trapped it in a corner. There was little chance that the _Mad Cat_, bleeding fire and smoke, could get away from Medron's LBX20.

Jeremy tapped into their frequency to get sitrep, but instead caught Medron's tirade as he prepared for the final blow. "You kids are just an abomination of the Star League! You have failed your makers, and the Star League wasted billions of C-Bills to create trash Mechwarriors like you! You and your kind disgust me!"

"Merdon, do you know how Odysseus escaped the Cyclops in the Odyssey?" Lane responded, his voice oddly calm despite the peril.

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Merdon snorted, baffled by the comment.

"Odysseus sharpened a log into a giant spear and impaled the Cyclops in the eye, blinding it and allowing Odysseus and his crew to escape." Before Merdon could respond, Lane shot Merdon's cockpit with both PPC's. The assault mech jerked backwards, flapping its arm in a comical way to maintain balance. It was a miracle the head wasn't disintegrated by the shot, but judging from the way the _Cyclops_ moved, it was clear that all electronics was fried. The one-eyed Mechwarrior had lost control over everything.


	19. Chapter 18 Set Sail by Ulquiorra9000

**Chapter 18: Set Sail, by Ulquiorra9000**

_**Stare, Gharna Prime,**_

_**Lyran Alliance,**_

_**3068**_

_I think I've got it, _Lane thought with hesitant elation. He watched as Merdon's _Cyclops _took a few shaky steps back, struggling to maintain its balance against the momentum of the dual PPC strike. The vicious blue bolts had struck the "eye" of the _Cyclops, _wrecking the electronics systems and possibly killing Merdon himself. Lane was sure that if Merdon hadn't been killed from the cockpit shot, then he would eject and call off the battle.

And eject he did: a jet of flame rose from the _Cyclops' _head, and Lane saw Merdon's rather bulky frame flying into the air and escaping the ruined 90-ton 'mech. The _Zeus, Awesome, _and _Battlemaster _all ceased fire when their master was fallen, breaking off the attack on the Prodigy Lances. The _Cyclops, _missing its pilot, lost balance and swayed in place, making loud creaks and groans. Then, the assault 'mech lost its balance entirely and fell forward onto its face, sprawling over the wide street, face-down. The other two Lances in Merdon's group fell silent, knowing that if their master was fallen, then they had to respect the winner. In fact, in their mind, Lane Farlow was set to succeed Merdon as the new kingpin of Stare. They turned and paid respects to the one who defeated their master, requesting that the change of power take place here and now.

"I'm not going to replace him!" Lane sputtered once the offer was made. _Crazy Gharna Prime people! _"I won't even kill him unless he gets in my way again. If he cooperates and keeps the Khans away and allows my Dropship to leave the planet without any trouble, we can all settle down. I'd like an anonymous, peaceful exit. I'm being lenient here."

"U... understood," the pilot of the _Zeus _responded, still in awe. His 'mech fell to one of its giant metal knees, placing a hand on the ground. "Our master Merdon One-Eye will live to tell the tale, then, how he was defeated gallantly in combat! You are a man of great honor and kindness. We will certainly allow you safe passage off our world, heh?"

"What is this? Merdon One-Eye was defeated? An interesting development," a cold voice stated calmly on the comm, and everyone turned to see two new 'mechs emerging from the silvery central building of Stare. A _Thor _and a _Stiletto _were advancing on the assembled warriors.

"I hate all this nonsense. Let us kill these surats and be done with it, quiaff?" the _Thor _pilot growled to the _Stiletto _pilot, and with a sinking feeling, Lane realized that Shuran and Theodore were back once again, and they wanted blood.

"Are you here to fight the off-worlders?" one of Merdon's men demanded. He was the pilot of one of the _Trebuchets._

"Aff, of course we are," Theodore replied smoothly, but I could hear intense desires for carnage seething under his voice. "Move. Now. We will finish what Merdon could not. He will not have died in vain."

The _Awesome _lurched in its pilot's anger. "Our boss Merdon One-Eye didn't die!" he raged. "Under Merdon's rule, Stare flourished and rose to notoriety against the other crime-cities of Stare. Even the governments around here recognize this. And Merdon was spared his life by this Lane Farlow kid so he could continue to rule! I won't let you harm the one who gave up his chance to succeed Merdon in exchange for passage off-world."

_They're thanking me for sparing Merdon's life by protecting me from the Khans and __assuring me passage off-worl__d! _Lane realized, his eyes widening. _If this comes to blows..._

And it did. Shuran's Thor let loose an LRM 15 from the circular missile pod, and the missiles streaked through the air and hit one of the _Dragons. _"Spare me, barbarian!" Shuran Thomela hissed. "I do not care if that one-eyed freak of a crime boss lived or not. _Move, _or there will be death here!"

"Yes. Yours!" the _Dragon _pilot cried, and Lane ordered his Lance to move back as Merdon's men marched forward to engage the approaching Khans. Spark likewise ordered his Lance back, and we all watched as Theodore and Shuran found themselves fighting much more than they could handle. Their combined fire downed one of the _Dragons _and badly injured the _Battlemaster, _but Merdon's forces had the upper hand. Both the _Thor _and _Stiletto _escaped with their jump jets, vanishing into the city before they were destroyed by their enemies' firepower.

Lane watched the entire spectacle from his _Mad Cat's _cockpit, hardly believing what had happened in just the past ten minutes. He had kicked down Stare's front door and expected to fight everyone, but now Merdon's men were helping him against the Clanners! And whatever became of Jeremy's battle against Jessie?

"Sorry if I took a while. Did I miss anything good?" Jeremy's voice asked as though on cue. Lane turned to see Jeremy's ravaged _Apocalypse _limp into the main street, most of its armor in scorched tatters. Mickey's much smaller _Jenner _wasn't far behind, and it had sustained less damage than the bigger 'mech.

"I defeated Merdon. He ejected after taking two PPC's to the cockpit," Lane reported. "Then, apparently that meant by Stare's rules that I was to succeed Merdon and kill him, but I had spared him and allowed him to remain in charge. His men revered him, so they repaid my 'kindness' by fending off my enemies. Weird, huh?"

"That's... bizarre," Jeremy commented dryly. "Listen, I took care of Jessie; he's gone."

"Got that business sorted out?" Lane summarized.

The _Apocalypse _limped further into the street, warily walking by Merdon's assembled forces. "Pretty much," Jeremy answered. His voice sounded calm, even cocky, but Lane figured that it was a reaction to the heavy nature of the business he and Lane had here. Perfectly understandable. "How are we getting off-world? Will Merdon's men help us?"

"They will," Lane said. "They'll make sure our Dropship is in top condition, and we'll be on our way. We'll set sail at the first chance we get."

*o*o*o*o*

The Battlemechs of Prodigy Lance 10 and the Solaris Immortals had sustained serious damage, so they would be out of commission for some time, as Lane was told by the crew of the Jumpship that picked up the Dropship. Their mission to Hellgar II was being delayed, but the stubborn resistance on Solaris VII was holding out, and the local Word of Blake forces were getting tired and frustrated. With time, both the Prodigies and the Immortals could go to Hellgar II, or even take on another mission of they chose it. Lane wasn't sure yet.

"We went through a lot down there, didn't we?" Lane commented to Jeremy later that day, as the both of them looked out the window at the brown-green world of Gharna Prime below them. "First we were shot down, then we found Stare and took on a mission from Merdon One-Eye..."

"And then he turned on us, and Jessie too," Jeremy added. "And _then _you honorably defeated Merdon and earned his troops' good favor. Well, I made for good fire support, huh?"

"Don't say that," Lane assured his friend with a clap on the shoulder. "If it weren't for your leadership and combat skills, we would have gone down long before that final battle. Spark's Lance helped too, but the Immortals were pivotal."

Jeremy glared at Gharna Prime for a few seconds, then his eyes softened and he allowed a small grin under his mustache and he nodded briskly, folding his arms. "Thanks, kid," he said in genuine tones, then he sighed. "I myself have gone through a lot of things, and that's not even counting our little romp on Gharna Prime."

"Like Evee and Parker?" Lane asked, and instantly hoped that he hadn't overstepped his bounds. Jeremy didn't seem angered, at least.

"That's some of it, yeah," Jeremy admitted. "Look. I'm going back to Solaris VII after this. Where are you and your Lance headed?"

Lane shrugged. "To Strantor, probably. The Academy there acts as the base of operations for the Prodigy Program. Though I might swing by Solaris VII to lend a hand if necessary."

"By the time you get there, Solaris will be Word-free. I guarantee you that," Jeremy grinned wider, thumping a fist against his chest. "And then we'll hit up Thor's Shield Hall and you'll learn how 'mech jockeys spend their afternoons."

"But I'm too young to drink!" Lane protested. "I'm 15 and all..."

"Well, we'll work something out," Jeremy promised. He clapped Lane's shoulder and turned to leave. "Till next time, kid."

He went down the hallway and out of sight, leaving Lane alone with the view of Gharna Prime far below.

**END.**

*o*o*o*o*

**Ulquiorra9000: **Well, that's it for the collaboration. I hope that you enjoyed this series crossover, and will continue to enjoy _Rubber Match _and _MECHWARRIOR: the Prodigy _as they update. I also hope you got a kick out of that whole Cyclops theme that Merdon and his city had going there ;) it helped add flavor to the story! Stick around, good reader, because RougeBaron and I will put heads together once again with _I, Kerensky 4 – Empires and Prodigies, _the official sequel to _I, Ker3nsky: Messiah. _In IK4, we will see adult versions of the members of Prodigy Lance 10, because the story will begin in the year 3079.

**RougeBaron:** I find it very entertaining to work with other author. Ulquiorra9000 is a nice person to collaborate with and we had a lot of fun doing this piece. Well, this story is a nice tryout to know each other and to see what works and what doesn't. This story ends here, but our collaboration doesn't. We're going to a new direction, and we're bringing our big guns. If you like what we're doing together, then tune in for _I, Kerensky__ 4 – Empires and Prodigies_!


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